Endless Main: Sea Of Lies

Galloping through a short album's worth of standard power metal fare, Slovakian six piece Endless Main deliver a debut disc which displays a healthy level of skill and craft while never really doing quite enough to separate them from the ever growing power metal flock. That said, guitarists Matus Sudila and Marek Fencl do make for a formidable partnership and when they combine with keyboard player Michal Prochaza the results are rather grand and at times ferocious. Vocally Michal Sepetka combines the rough throaty strength of Jorn Lande with a slightly more theatrical approach in the vein of ex-Asia man John Payne and while it doesn't quite make for the most original sound you are ever liable to hear he can certainly deliver a vocal with enough chest beating passion and gritty guts to keep you firmly within his grasp. Add to that a more than capable rhythm section in the shape of bassist Jakub Sepetka and drummer Pavol Labuda and Endless Main have all the ingredients to leave their mark.

So what stops Sea Of Lies from being a mighty triumph? Well in truth the only thing holding this lot back is experience and the ability to add a couple of really memorable hooks to their songs. "Only Once", "Home" and "Shared Hope Of Romance" all combine meaty guitars and layers of keyboards with blistering vocals and pummelling drums, however the slower sections and little breaks which are meant to add colour to the songs are actually a little clunky and at the end of this thirty minutes of music (including the obligatory throwaway "intro") nothing really quite manages to stick in the memory.

That's not to say that aficionados of the power metal genre won't find much to be impressed by on Sea Of Lies, or that anyone wishing to branch out from the mainstream of bands in this scene won't bang their heads in approval. However little areas such as the actual keyboard sounds employed by Prochaza could definitely be sharpened up and altering the single paced approach of much of the music on this album would also make for a more memorable listening experience. Considering that Endless Main are a band self releasing their debut album from an area of the world not so far renowned for its metal music, the convincing nature of Sea Of Lies is to be applauded and encouraged, and with the right guidance this Slovakian outfit could really be on to something.

Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Home
3. Angels And Demons
4. Only Once
5. Revenge
6. Shared Hope Of Romance
7. Once Upon A Time

Added: June 28th 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Endless Main MySpace
Hits: 2606
Language: english

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