Customer Reviews

Psychogeist

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"Age of Nemesis" is a wonderful band hailing from Hungary. Like "Everwood", another Hungarian group, they play progressive metal rich in melody and imagination. Everwood's vocalist has a more noticeable accent, almost brogue-like in quality, whereas Nemesis' singer is more at the higher end of the spectrum. He has impressive range, and pronounces every word clearly without sounding like a foreigner struggling to master vowels and consonants. The music on "Psychogeist" is spectacular. The first six songs comprise a story about a child and some kind of psychic power he possesses that has the potential to wreak planetary disaster. Every song has excellent harmonies, choruses, and guitar/keyboard work. The guitarist and keyboard player often shower the songs with synchronized runs, and their virtuosity is evident. These solo breaks never seem gratuitous or an attempt to flaunt their dazzling abilities, but retain a sense of melody that is integral to the song and are extremely catchy. Each song is also packed with changes in rhythm and tempo that keep them fresh and interesting. They don't repeat themselves often, which is refreshing. The stand-out songs for me are "Eye of the Snake", with its Middle Eastern vibe and awesome guitar work that combines metal with Arabic soundscapes. "Goddess Nemesis" is a fantastic instrumental, allowing each musician to demonstrate mastery of his instrument yet still blending everything into a cohesive whole. "Psychogeist" has an intense, brooding intro that segues into thrashy vocals and almost spoken lyrics that are backed by what sounds like a sonic hurricane whooshing in and out of the studio. The last two songs are epic, with exemplary melodies (again) and sublime vocal parts. I love the final song when the singer croons, "Will my soul be bad or good, I just can't decide". For an album I would have never heard if it wasn't for the similarly excellent "Terra Incognita", this is one of the best CDs I have purchased in the last decade.

Age of Nemesis hails from Hungary; not a country known to be a hotbed for progressive music.

Musically, they play prog metal; with major inspirations from Dream Theaters early recordings, especially the guitar has a similar sound to the crunchier riffs found on DT's Awake album. In addition to that, several songs are spiced with elements that seem to originate from jazz and fusion.

The musicianship is good, the individual members give each other space to contribute individually as well as being good at supporting each other.

What I found wanting on this release were really good songs. Apart from the tracks "Mommy's Crying" and "Abraxas" most of the songs here just aren't very interesting.

Competent prog metal well performed by good musicians.