SECRET SPHERES OF ART

Great music! You never know where you'll find it. Serbia? Being a geography buff, I happen to know where it is. I also know it was a bulwark against Moslem expansionism in centuries past, being located on the crossroad between Europe and Asia Minor. What I didn't know or even suspect was that they had ever heard of, let alone had a band or bands that played western style music.

Alogia is such a band. They play a western style of music generally called epic power metal, the same kind of music that is played by the great American band, Kamelot, French band, Heavenly, Spanish band, Dark Moor, English band Dragonforce and a bevy of bands from Italy, Germany, Sweden and Finland.

Whether Alogia is an anomaly from Serbia or a trend I do not know. I came across them quite by accident, as I have some other bands, on one of my favorite websites: www.progarchives.com. One of the things I like about this site is that they seem to have the most comprehensive listing of the various sub genres of progressive rock around. They also have mp3 downloads available on many of the bands, which is how I got to hear Alogia. It's also how I got to hear Riverside and Archive, whose excellent albums I previously bought and reviewed.

The music of Alogia ranges from hard rocking melodic metal fare like 'Samson' and 'Secret Spheres', to speedy percussion driven Power Metal such as 'Legend of a Stolen Heart', 'As the Time Passes By' and 'Beyond the Time.' Nikola Mijicis provides more than adequate singing with an emotive slightly raspy voice that ranges from pleasant to screaming. As Musicians, the strength of the band seems to be strong guitar and keyboard playing, featuring two guitarists (brothers who were the bands founders) and two keyboardists.

The Secret Spheres of Art contains fourteen tracks but only runs a shade under forty-four minutes. That can be attributed to four instrumental tracks which only run from fifty seconds to a minute forty seconds. Call them suites or introductions to the following songs. Despite their brevity, they are a welcome and integral part of the album. I even consider three of them, Journey into the Dawn of Life, Astral Horizons and Overture Solemnis, highlight songs. Another instrumental song of note is the surreal two minute bombastic "Kontinium" which actually segues into the very short Middle Eastern flavored "Mystica Aegyptiorum," which segues into a chaotic rock song called "Amon."

Other Highlight songs are: . Secret Spheres features driving, somewhat hectic but catchy harmony led by a persistent synthesizer, strong drums and some strong singing. . Falling Asleep is warm feeling, melodious song, slightly slower, with some nice harmonic singing by the band. This particular song reminds me of the style of a band called Wonderland. . Lament is the only ballad on the album. Well, I guess it's really a rock ballad. Very melodious and very catchy. I'm not usually a ballad person but this is an exception. It kind of reminds me of a ballad by Tesla or Def Lepard

Conclusion

I like this band. There isn't anything revolutionary here but they have a nice sound and the work their instruments with precision. There is some orchestral backing on some of the songs as well. Rating 4.25 stars.