The Human Race Extinction is the sophomore release from Belgian progressive metal act Ethernity, a band formed by family members Julien (keyboards), Nicholas (drums), and Francois (bass) Spreutels, rounded out by lead vocalist Julie Colin and guitarists Francesco Mattei & Thomas Henry. This new AFM Records release contains a hefty 14 tracks and clocks in at over 70 minutes, chock full of dramatic musical passages and powerful vocals that should appeal to any fan of Evergrey, Epica, Symphony X, and After Forever.
You can really hear the Evergrey influence on the massive sounding "Grey Skies", an emotional tune ripe with beefy guitar riffs, a smattering of keyboards, and Colin's soaring vocal delivery. "Beyond Dread" features another great performance from the singer, her commanding pipes jettisoned over a churning arrangement of acrobatic rhythms, a wall of guitar crunch, and plenty of bubbling keyboards. Looking at the song titles, you no doubt can discern that The Human Race Extinction is a futuristic tale of the end of the human race brought upon by the emergence of machines taking over the world, and the music does a great job of following these themes. Dueling synth solo & guitar solos fly about a massive wall of riffage on the bombastic "Redefined", while "Rise of Droids" is absolutely crushing, the guitars tumultuous and the keys symphonic. Symphony X fans will love the pure bombast of "Not the End", as acrobatic, sledgehammer riffs, haunting keys, potent rhythms, and snarling vocals drive home the story in a big, big way.
The more you listen to The Human Race Extinction, the more you'll be completely swept away by it. This is massive, massive stuff here folks, power & progressive metal colliding for maximum intensity, the songs memorable, the vocals powerful, and the musical passages thrilling. Another excellent release from the fine folks at AFM Records.
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Track Listing
1. Initialization 01:08
2. The Human Race Extinction 06:24
3. Mechanical Life 06:01
4. Grey Skies 06:28
5. Beyond Dread 05:36
6. Artificial Souls 04:37
7. Redefined 06:02
8. Rise of Droids 06:35
9. Mark of the Enemy 02:35
10. The Prototype 05:07
11. Not the End 05:07
12. Warmth of Hope 04:19
13. Chaos Architect 05:19
14. Indestructible 05:29