HEGAIAMAS: A SONG FOR FREEDOM

This is the 4th album of the Athenians who steadily gain pace after appearing in ProgPower a couple of years or so ago.

The acid prog metal sound of the band found in the previous album still makes its way in tracks such as ''Tilikum'', albeit in a smaller scale; this fact makes the album more digestible than its predecessor. Jon V's vocals range from melodic to acid-thrashy, their tone mostly resembling to Ray Alder but also not afraid of experimenting in Warrel Dane-like fashion. This is supported from the overall sound of Hegaiamas, which reveals its main influence in the face of Fates Warning; riffy, melodic, contemporary prog metal.

The album starts off with the two most accessible tunes and highlights, Rememory and Alltribe, a great way to get the listener interested in the rest. The heaviness increases with Therianthrope and Riverthane reaching its peak with Tilikum before dropping to a 5-minute narration of a dream / piano piece in the form of I.O.T.A.; although completely different than the rest, it's an interesting interlude in the ongoing bombardment of riffage. The ghost of Nevermore hangs over the heavier tunes, ensuring that no cheesiness is let through the door (I think I can hear some drop-D tunes here and there but don't hold me to this). The 20+ min. title track is solid proof that NEED can survive epic songs withoug losing the listener in the maze of riffs. Complex but not too much, heavy and melodic enough to keep the balance. The tunes on this song slightly resemble to "Memory Palace" of Between Buried and Me which brings a faint (and positive) smile to my face.

The selective appearance of Evergrey, Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation confirm that NEED have filtered and mastered their influences. Quality-wise, this sits up there with the best ever Greek prog-metal releases (e.g. Until Rain's Anthem to Creation). The production is pristine and flawless, the musicianship superb; narrations could be cut down a little. I suspect the next step is that they create something entirely of their own character. Until then, they will certainly be a fresh breath of modern quality prog metal.

4(-)