ZANTEA CHRONICLES: THE NIGHTMARE AWAKENS

Zantea Chronicles : The Nightmare Awakens is a very strong, should i say fantasy prog-rock album. Mastermind behind this rock journey is Antonis Adelfidis, who is very, very talented musician and writer. Personally, I'm not a big fan of fantasy rock operas and epic prog rock odysseys, but this album really deserves attention. Arjen Lucassen (AYREON's mastermind) is certainly the main representative of such conceptual rock albums. The characters that lead the stories from song to song are well described and their role from track to track really dig you into the album. There are no classical electric guitars or bass guitars on the album. There is Rheem Kee Bass and that bass tone sounds great. This is what Antonis Adelfidis said in notes. The introduction to the album opens with a light synth choir-piano orchestration and a male vocal that opens the story. Later, on the album are the influence of classic prog rock and hard rock giants from the seventies can be felt. I also have to say that there is a melancholic gothic note and atmosphere thru out the whole album. There are also female vocals that give a special atmosphere and feeling to the story. What is most interesting, the album features very rare analog synthesizers, which are probably hard to find these days. That is a great thing when artists recording albums that way. That approach is amazing and inspiring. The only minus to this album is final mastering and drums mixing. But, hey, if you want to enjoy the effort thru fantasy prog rock, just close your eyes and press play. I will give this album very strong 3 stars and can not wait to hear more from them.