EMBRACE THE STORM

Stream of Passion was formed in the wake of Ayreon's The Human Equation, the album on which Arjen Lucassen first used Mexican vocalist Marcela Bovio. The band was formed mostly to give Arjen Lucassen an alternate musical outlet for which he could use to emphasize Bovio's beautiful soprano vocals. From what I remember reading, the music was primarily composed by Lucassen, while the lyrics were written predominantly by Bovio.

Given the direction of the album, I feel that devoting an entire paragraph to the lead vocalist is meritorious. Marcela Bovio is among the most talented vocalists I've ever heard. Not only does she have a rather impressive range, but she also has one of the most emotive voices I've ever heard. Given that the album is focused on proving this, it shouldn't come at any surprise that several vocal effects are employed. In a number of tracks employ the usage of layered vocalists, "Out in the Real World" being a prime example of this.

The best tracks are "Open Your Eyes" and "Breathing Again," where I feel Bovio's greatest vocal moments occur, along with "Passion" and "Out in the Real World," both of which eventually were used for videos the band produced. There aren't any bad tracks on the album, nor were there any that floored me upon listening. While Bovio's voice is undoubtedly very impressive, I feel the music is rather lacking and disinteresting compared to Arjen's work with Ayreon. For this reason, I can't give this album any more than three stars.

To anyone who enjoys this CD, I would recommend Ayreon's Into the Electric Castle and The Human Equation, along with Bovio's own band Elfonia, whose album This Sonic Soundscape features equally beautiful vocals but more impressive musical content.