ACOUSTIC APHASIA

Sunpath is new to ProgArchives at the time I write this review - they entered the forums as an unsigned/unreleased band and were approved shortly after that on the basis of this, their debut album. A band with many influences listed in their band information (and probably as many not listed), formed by a mix of young and slightly older musicians (ages between 25 and 45 at the time of this release) most of whom are well trained (some even classically trained) multi-instrumentalists. Promising...

The album starts with the instrumental opener Intromental, which brings back vague recollections of the instrumental openings of 1980's Helloween albums. Recollections that are quickly wiped out, since this track is more serious than the Helloween intros, this is a real overture of the album rather than a guitar 'thingy'. With this, the metal roots and the more than decent level of musicianship are introduced straight away. Picture of Illusion follows, with a dreamy, picked guitar intro that lasts for a few minutes, followed by alternating metal ballad like verse and a chorus. Near the end the mood changes gradually in order to return to the atmosphere and sound of the intro. Dreamscape takes me back to the first time I heard a sample of the band on MySpace (a mix of short pieces of all tracks), which immediately reminded me of Sieges Even's Paramount album that I had just bought at the time. The bands show akin, but Sunpath still has it's own ideas to work with, and a different vocalist. Heavier and speedier Aphelion is a real metal track with a progressive edge, and Ralf Kierspel showing the high pitch possiblities of his voice. I never heard his former band Picture This, but I think they might be worth sampling as well. In Good Seasons then - a completely different beast, with some very clean guitar work in it. Ralf singing in a quite emotional way. I recall someone on ProgArchives wrote in a review that Sieges Even mixed Metal and Art Rock. For me, this track shows that Sunpath is capable of doing the same. Rafael Sonntag also gets a chance to show his skills on the violin (he is classically trained on that instrument), which is blended very nicely with a slightly distorted guitar solo. This is a track that really appeals to me. Closing track of the album is the 13-minute epic Tacit Knowledge. A short description of the track, and some lyrics are dearly missed - this track made me notice for the first time that the CD has no booklet, only an double sided inlay with band info. However, musically, the track is more than worth listening. It shows what the band means with this credo found on their web site (I translated it from German below):

"SUNPATH - a name that stands for virtuosity, richness in elements, powerful rock, and fine melodies. Five musicians combine this with stylistic influences from rock, metal, jazz, blues, and funk - in order to create innovative, unique music."

Bits of most styles mentioned here are to be found in this track - without loosing coherence, in some places even blending almost unnoticed.

Overall, Sunpath may not have started their career with a five star masterpiece (I dare not judge it that way at it's present age), but this album and the level of experience and musical education in the band, hold promises for the future. A little more variation in song structures (less chorus-verse alternations in track likes Picture of Illusions) would have been nice, but overall musicianship compensates for this.

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