FOREWORD

Phavian are a US-based progressive metal band whose debut album saw the light a couple of years ago (2009), and now in this 2011 they have released an EP and a full-length album. This EP entitled "Foreword" consists of four compositions, two short and two longs, which make a total time of thirty-three minutes. So despite it is an EP, you will have a complete taste of what Phavian's music is about. Also, this EP is offered as a free download, so go and get it.

It opens with "Feldgrau", one of the shorter tracks of the EP. It does not really have a clear metal orientation; it may be due to the female voice of Elizabeth Matson, and that kind of melodic flavor inherent in their sound. The song stops and changes before the fourth minute, the guitars appear and create a cool instrumental passage.

"Watersong" is their longest composition (twelve minutes). The first minute and a half starts slowly, mellow and calm with nice vocals. Later the guitar sound is prominent and the different instruments join and create a stronger melody. The song is pretty rich, with several inner changes in rhythm and mood. I love the guitar and its diversity of chords and figures; the drums are always good, and the vocals nicely complement the sound, there is a moment where a male voice enters at the same time as the female one. Overall, this is a high-quality composition.

"Green Iris" is another shorter track, and this may be the best example of their prog metal orientation. The thing here is that to my ears, the power that the instruments (guitars, bass and drums) implement is vanished by the soft and delicate female voice, which is a good contrast, but may be a doubled-edge weapon for Phavian's followers.

Finally, "Acolyte", which is my favorite track. The music never ceases and the rhythm perfectly flows. Here I love the guitar work, which together with the voice creates a mellow, interesting and wonderful sound. The instrumental parts are also great, the guitar riffs fantastic, the drums constant, accurate, and the bass pretty good. After five minutes the first part of the song vanishes, and it turns into a much calmer, mellower track, with piano included. Now you can rest and feel more relaxed. Later the song changes again, it is progressing little by little, implementing new guitar textures and creating more emotional atmospheres. Great final track!

Very nice EP from Phavian, now I m looking forward to listen to their "Meridian I" album. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!