From Hungary comes this excellent new find Nemesis, premiering here in the US on Ken Golden’s Sensory label. Actually, Eden? is Nemesis’ third album, but first English language release. After recording their second album, the band lost most if its members, and the new line-up is featured here on Eden?. The end result is top-notch progressive metal with an abundance of heavy riffs, symphonic keyboards, and hooks.
Even though the vocals of Zoltan Kiss (no, I’m not making his name up) have a readily discernable Hungarian accent, the singer has a rich and powerful voice, and is easy to understand. “Four Mirrors” is an instant classic, with crunchy guitars and lots of complex keyboard work, but with catchy melodic vocals telling the tale of a nightmare that is all too real. The title track is a near ten-minute epic that rivals some of the best of Symphony X or even Dream Theater. Gyorgy Nagy’s keyboard work is simply stunning here, as he trades vicious leads with guitarist Zoltan Fabian as well as create wonderful symphonic atmosphere. The tasty playing of Fabian is at the forefront on the lovely instrumental “Faith”, while his lethal riffs charge the rhinoceros stomp of the two-part epic “Eternal Circle.” Jacked by the nimble rhythm section of drummer Laszlo Nagy and bassist Csaba Berczelly, the band takes you through many twists and turns on this one, from prog-metal power, slow doomy sections, to some neat intricate Middle Eastern passages. If your tastes range more in the catchy power-metal vein, look no further than “Escape”, a great sing-along headbanger, or the classical meets metal of “Reality’s Door”, with some wicked guitar/keyboard exchanges. There is plenty of complexity throughout Eden? to please even the strictest of prog fans, plus the heavy nature of the songs will have metal listeners howling with delight. The cover artwork is a marvel as well!
Nemesis are apparently ready to release another English language CD some time in early 2003. Judging by the sheer power of Eden?, this should be something to look forward to. Nemesis has arrived, go seek them out!
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
