MOON

Rewind to the 90's

Soul Cages return to discography with "Moon", 14 years after "Craft" - and their return is what the fans would have expected: a typical or rather "classic" Soul Cages album, following the same recipe of success and most of all the unique character of the band.

The quality and the lyrical approach are still there, the clean guitars are dominating the quirky melodies and the distorted riffs bring to the surface that Rush influence a little bit more. The tone of the accented (male) and beautiful female vocals remains intact, the combination creates the haunting atmospheres of the art-rock type of progressive metal that Soul Cages profess. Self-produced this time, "Moon" sounds quite dynamic but pays more attention to the emotion and the unconventional melodies.

Comparisons to the artistic early 90's Sieges Even albums are acceptable but don't get hung on that, since Soul Cages make a sound of their own. A band that likes to remain "underground" has released one of the best albums of 2013, following what they know to do best. Not a masterpiece per se but a declaration of honest, quality progressive metal.

Best moment: Beautiful, Point One.

The only way to get the CD is via [email protected].

With thanks to Joerg for sending me the album.

If you like the idea of a cross between hummable mid-paced power metal and melancholic 80s new wave music (think The Smiths and New Order on their more rockier side) with an added layer of complexity (the complex beats, the multiple interlocking instrumental lines), give Soul Cages a try. This may not be the fullest description of the band, because they are really multi-faceted, but this is the feeling they awake in me. What I also like is that albums are fairly compact and even though The Moon is self- produced, it is as clear as the predecessors.

That said, a better intro to the band would probably be their 1990s albums, like Moments and Craft, because The Moon is more harder and fast - relatively speaking of course - and I think that the clean and pensive is what they do best. As often happens, when its loud, some of the wonderful melodies end up buried. And all songs here feature some cool original melodic lines. Be warned - even Soul Cages are not inaccessible, they do require repeated listens to sink in. But if you have time to spare, in the end you will be satisfied by discovering another hidden gem in the vast prog metal world.