Former Elegy vocalist Ian Parry is back with the final installment in the Consortium Project series, titled Species. If you've been satisfied with the previous entries, which have all been jam packed with bombastic progressive & power metal, then certainly Species will also be much to your liking.
There's no doubt that Parry still has the 'pipes of doom' so to speak, as his powerful vocal delivery is front and center throughout Species. Guest stars are plenty, and include guitarists Stephan Lill (Vanden Plas), Niels Vejlyt (Infinity Overture) and Veith Offenbächer (Dawn of Destiny), bass players Kris Gildenlöw (Pain of
Salvation) and Jens Faber (Dawn of Destiny) drummer Casey Grillo (Kamelot), female vocalsts Lene Petersen and Ani Lozanova (Ani Lozanova Project) along with keyboardists Kalin Jechev (Ani Lozanova Project) and Peter-Jan Kleevens. Most of the tracks here are quite heavy, with the crunch 'o rama from Lill, Vejlyt, and Offenbacher dialed up to 11 and really hitting' it hard. Tunes such as "Origins of Mankind", "The Worst Has Yet to Come", "Life on Earth", and "To Earth and Back" feature titanic guitar riffs alongside Parry's histrionic wailing and walls of orchestral keyboards, making for an epic ride all the way. The female vocals add a nice touch, giving a few of the tracks an Epica, Nightwish sort of feel (especially on final cut "Oracle"), but Parry is always the star of the show. Lyrically, this one continues the science fiction themes started in the previous four releases, as aliens attack the earth and mankind prepares for the battle.
In the end, you either love this sort of thing or you don't. Species delivers just what you'd expect from Ian Parry & Co., so if you enjoy massive guitar riffs, soaring melodies, symphonic keyboards, and Parry's leather lunged vocals, there's a lot to enjoy here.
Track Listing:
1. Epilogue (storyteller) 1:25
2. Life On Earth 3:50
3. Origins Of Mankind 3:58
4. The Worst Has Yet To Come 4:24
5. An Untold Message 3:40
6. To The Earth And Back 6:01
7. Sirens 3:31
8. Pitch Black 3:46
9. Silence Calling 4:08
10. Species 5:22
11. Enemy Within 3:03
12. Oracle 5:13
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