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Escape Music
by Craig Hartranft, 08.21.2013
Hailing from Thessaloniki, Greece, metal outfit Until Rain returns with their sophomore effort, Anthem to Creation, now on the Escape Music label. The album is a potent collection of melodic progressive power metal, with a sound capturing a range from Shadow Gallery to Circus Maximus to Symphony X.
Anthem to Creation is also a long album, clocking in at nearly 80 minutes of music. Prepare to be patient and listen carefully. Even though you may want to break this album up in chunks, thankfully, Until Rain keeps you engaged from the start. Brain Death and Think Again not only show the course of the album but also Until Rains prog power chops.
There's lots of shifting movements and signatures in arrangements powered by big riffage, an immense rhythm section, bold vocals, and solid guitar solos, and then tempered with nice piano and some symphonic layers. While the pace can moderate between and within songs, most everything is wrapped in a heavier blistering cover, definitely putting the 'power' into the progressive metal. You get this with Brain Death, Think Again, Empty Helmet, and The Clang of Shields, Part 1, as good examples.
The moderation comes in Part 2 of that song, and more or less in Breaking of the 7 Seals and Marionettes. In that song, it's notable in the delicate movement of the second half where the music allows you to imagine the marionettes being manipulated on their strings. The raw strength of Until Rain's progressive power metal skills come in the longer pieces Empty Helmet and the title track. The former is generally heavy and intense; the latter blends the best of all those aforementioned elements into a more complete, complex, and engaging song. While melody plays a part in every song, when it rises to the top with clarity, as with My Own Blood in the vocal arrangements (though Yannis Papadopoulos can get screamo at times), Until Rain is even more convincing and eloquent.
Overall, with Anthem to Creation, Until Rain delivers the progressive power metal goods, with strength and creativity, easily competing with the big boys. Recommended.
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With Anthem to Creation, Until Rain delivers the progressive power metal goods, with strength and creativity, easily competing with the big boys.
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