ALTONA

It appears that Altona have been around as an entity for at least a decade, previously having released a 4 track thrash EP, 'Alarm Of The End', back in 1999. Having metamorphosed into a progressive metal band however, this Turkish 5 piece have released their debut 'album', which at just over 30 minutes, is little more than another, topped and tailed four track concept EP about the breakdown & 'death' of a relationship. Having been self released on their 'Atlantis Music' label, this sadly suffers from stilted, at times unintelligible lyrics in English and slightly inferior production quality as a consequence.

Musically, they are very much a generic, traditional progressive metal band in terms of the musical arrangements, with the inevitable influences of DT and Fates Warning, fused with a slight 'middle eastern' influence, in the mould of Orphaned Land. That said, the music isn't fractionally as original as either OL or Amaseffer, and consequently not in the same league. While the musicians are certainly proficient, their material, mostly written by guitarist Aytac Dasdemir, is nothing more than adequate, workmanlike and formulaic, and I can't help feeling that they are hampered my the rather limited vocal range of singer Vahdang Makaletia.

No-one likes to pour water on the enthusiasm of a new band however, and so I would suggest that 'Field Of Hope' (presently available on their MySpace page) is the strongest, perhaps most varied track on the album, and I will look forward to checking out future releases, as the band hone their sound.