COMA GHOSTS

When a new band pops-up out of nowhere, it's nothing but an exciting pleasure to the greedy ear. Likewise, I run onto Effloresce, a progressive metal band from Germany. The band members are Dave (guitar, keys), Tim (guitar), Basti (bass), Tobi (drums) and last but not least Nicki on vocals (and not only, I'll explain later on). After their EP release named "Shades of Fade" in 2009, they present us this year their first complete studio album under the title "Coma Ghosts", which is available for some time now, and has managed to shake things up not only in the current prog scene.

I first met Effloresce through their song "Swimming Through Deserts", which serves an Opeth-ish feeling (something between "Blackwater Park" and "Deliverance"), that grabs your attention instantly. Being a freshman, concerning their music, I started to believe that they belong to that music "style", but I was proven pleasantly wrong. The album conveys an incredible dynamic throughout it's duration, that is framed by their band-influences like Opeth as mentioned before, as well as Dream Theater representing the progressive scene. Simultaneously it adopts elements from the Symphonic Metal genre, reminding us bands similar to Epica. But let's get back to Nicki (as promised above), who besides her wonderful and powerful vocals has a little surprise for all those who are willing to give "Coma Ghosts" a hearing-chance: her growls, that make you... raise an eyebrow! Simple, as possible, they give a unique touch to the music result, without lasting more than someone can bear (if anyone has such problems whatsoever).

All 6 songs, consisting the album, prove that the band worked hard on the instrumentation, leaving aside unnecessary solos and extreme music blabber. The production, which was supervised by a legend of Swedish metal, Dan Swanö, is also excellent, pointing out the necessary elements of every song, creating a very solid result. Trying to pick one composition out the album, I face a bizarre dilemma as the introductory piece, "Crib", as well as the one that follows, "Spectre Pt.1: Zorya's Dawn", which is my favorite one, give you the appropriate push to get psyched and look forward to hearing the songs to come. The intro from "Pavement Canvas" is also breathtaking, as it builds itself up slowly until the appearance of the sticked-to-my-mind-from-the-first-hearing riff that is just what the audience need in a live performance. "Undercoat" plays an introductory role to "Swimming through Deserts", with guitars that remind the ones from Porcupine Tree and Opeth. For the album's closure there is the 16-minute "Shuteye Wanderer", which functions as a recap for the whole album. Fast prog/metal riffs along with beautiful music passages and nicely done solos (especially the part with the flute, performed by Nicki), soft vocals and growls are the best way to summarize and present what Effloresce is all about.

If someone wonders how Opeth would sound like with Anneke Van Giersbergen or Simone Simons on vocals, well this album is exactly the answer, but of course inside the unique prisma of Effloresce's musical perception. Concluding, the only thing I would like to wish for this wonderful start to be only the beginning...