NAVE

I believe this was to be the only album by this Brazilian band. Not much is known of this group but there is a mention in the liner notes that they started in -93 and first participated in the compilation "Tales of Brazilian Rock". The music is Yes influenced symphonic prog but there is some touches of world music and (sadly) prog-metal as well. Not really pure symphonic progressive but without a doubt falls into that genre. The singer Roger Troyjo is good but he sounds a little like a typical prog-metal singer, which I don't like. The production is almost top-notch which cannot often be said even of the albums of new South-American groups.

The album starts with the songs "Sweetness of Freedom" and "Defined Seasons", easily the worst tracks in the album. The band sounds quite different in these tracks compared to the rest of the songs. It's like the influences of the band had changed and these tracks represent the earlier ones. Perhaps the two first songs were written earlier, who knows. From the 2nd track onwards it's a different game, the best tracks being "End of Torments", "Portal" and especially the Brazilian-ethnic instrumental "Dunya".

Conclusion: Good and well-produced progressive.