TIME'S FORGOTTEN

"New Dawn (prologue)" for the spatial, heavy and latent intro, a bewitching keyboard leading to "City", a combination of Priscilla's voice and heavy instrumentation, from the metronomic drums to the roaring bass, the borderline djent guitar placing notes by jerks; in short, a good current prog metal supercharged ' la THE GATHERING filled with spleen synths. 'Cycle' continues with a melodic title upstream with a spleen and bewitching guitar, the softer air on a declination of 'City'; it goes up on a djent rhythmic again followed by an intimate calm bluesy break, very nice moment. 'Defiant' continues on the same frame, heavy rhythmic well tempered, syncopated air and a melodic guitar which adds a little sweetness; surprise break cutting the title, Priscilla hits the road again with her voice to restore some energy, a snarling voice it is true to Chrissie HYNDE. "Accident Of Evolution" and it rocks serious from the intro, well worked, spatial, rhythmic, heavy; well we are on an instrumental there, look no further the only voices heard are those belched from a NASA radio station; staggering keyboard notes giving a little lightness.

"Waking Up (interlude)" for this moment of tranquility with piano and string instrument vibrating our ears and "Ascension" continues on the piano, Priscilla soft with Ari's guitar; a de facto crescendo that seizes mid-course, divine choirs, a bass ' la 'Seventh Son Of a Seventh Son' symphonic, airy and it starts again; Priscilla's voice becomes more aggressive, provocative, rock on a Chrissie HYNDE, a Pat BENATAR chopping her words; final djent with a tapping of strings leaving the sound of the group on very current metal, fast and technical. 'Outsider' for the title the most fits in, it moves hard from the start like climbing stairs to 4 floors; common title then consensual I would say and the killer bluesy break, provocative charm guitar-languorous voices. 'Moments of Clarity' for a variation with the highlighting of the synths giving another musical vignette of what the group can offer; the end starts again on a melodic prog metal. "The Road Home" on a spleen post rock air, air of a SIMPLE MINDS from the start, sounds reminding me of the cloudy airs of COMA ROSSI for a while, a little on the ambient sound of OCEANSIZE, GATHERING, a title that confuses with joy, showing that gentleness can be a plus; the explosive orgasmic rush brings us back to the opening sound. 'Sleepless' sublime as its name suggests; how even a short ambient track can rock the feeling of an album.

TIME'S FORGOTTEN strikes a blow, renewing itself with the contribution of a female voice and a high musical score, on the border of metal prog more than neo, Technic-djent prog; a varied album where progressive breaks arrive over the listening of each title, creating different and accommodating atmospheres. Delivering 50 minutes of pure pleasure, TIME'S FORGOTTEN is worth noting for this beginning of the year in this oh so current drawer.

Time's Forgotten is a band from Costa Rica formed in 2004, but who went on extended hiatus in 2015. They're back now, with a change in sound and vocalist - or so I have made out from their promotional material. Shelter may be their fourth album, but it's the first I've ever heard. I may still not have heard of them had they not been recommended to me after my review of Involute's debut as a similar band that I might enjoy. I can hear why the band were recommended to me, but there are probably as many differences as there are similarities, the biggest of which is that, although both bands have female singers, Priscilla Ruiz has a far more traditional prog metal vocal style. But enough of Involute - Shelter quite simply rocks!

I'm not done with Ruiz, though - for she really is the star attraction here. I'm not sure I even want to investigate the band's previous releases because so much of the atmosphere and energy of Shelter comes from the versatility of Ruiz's vocals. She can be an absolute powerhouse, coming on like an unstoppable tempest, and she can provide gentler tones for the more ballad styled songs. But this is a generally heavier prog metal beast that allows Ruiz to show her range and power as she rips and roars her way through her lines. Her voice soars over the instruments often, somewhere out there in the stratosphere, but that's not to say the rest of the backing are lacking, providing a solid wall of sound that's thoroughly enjoyable. And it's not standard fare, either. Sure, there are plenty of prog metal hooks and riffs, but there's some wonderfully melodic passages and others that are nice and jazzy.

There is surprisingly little keyboard high in the mix for this style of prog metal, but when it does rise above the rest and make its presence more known, Juan Pablo Calvo's playing really shines. Given that often the keys are my least favourite instrument in most prog metal bands, it is even more surprising that they are probably my favourite instrument on Shelter. They add a great deal to the sound, even when they are not prominent. The rhythm section of Jorge Sobrado (drums) and Gonzalo Trejos (bass) provide a solid groove that's quite irresistible, and Ari Lotringer plays a mean guitar, with some wicked solos. I don't know how many of these musicians are from the original incarnation of the band, but they are definitely a band I want to hear more from. If Shelter is a fresh start for Time's Forgotten, I'm with them from here on.

63 minutes for this full album where the sounds are diverse and that's what made me fall on it and stay there. A basic progressive metal sound with heavy riffs, borderline pompous keyboards, solo guitars that could take up a little more space; purely neo-progressive moments with intricate musical drawers that make you prick up your ears; 'Second Time', 'Backhome', 'Welcome you my night' and 'Silent Waters' for its experimental side are the central pieces in my opinion; as for the suite 'The Tale of the Sun and Moon (Dandelion)' it is quite simply for me the example of metal-prog fusion with an almost avant-garde fruity sound, animated from which one emerges something little stunned.

Well, TIME'S FORGOTTEN has released a little gem that it would be good to listen to again from time to time given the creative energy deployed in it.

Given that the band was formed by the keyboard player, I expected them to be musically coming from that area but instead they are coming into the genre much more from a melodic metal stance, with prog overtones. They can slow it down when they wish, and head more into the keyboard swathed sound, yet are also happy with plenty of technical guitar riffs, really mixing and changing the set all the way through so one is never sure where the next song is going to lead. On top of that they have a singer who is able to provide gentle, almost ballad-style vocals with long-held notes without a single ounce of strain, or she can be ripping into it is with a wonderful high range and power.

There is a lightness with the heavy, which makes this an incredibly easy album to listen to the very first time it is played. They use loads of contrast, and there is little room for egos as everyone does their job without a "look at how clever I am" attitude. There is no doubt at all that Time's Forgotten are back in a big way and let us hope it is not nearly as long until we get the next album.

This time we have a heavier album, there are great ambient melodies and strong compositions. Drums sound this time is superb, something that really failed in their debut and I'm talking specifically about the sound not the playing which in both albums are excellent.

Unfortunately not everything is perfect here, after playing Dandelion several times I'm still missing more elaborated guitar solos and at least one keys or bass solo. There are some pretty good guitar solos of course but they sound too restrained, not making justice to Ari's and Leo's capabilities.

However this is not the weakest part of the album, what I loved of ARMOP and don't like of Dandelion are the vocals. It is very noticeable that this time Longhi is singing till his limits and some notes just don't seemed to fit melodies. He is a great singer, probably the best in Costa Rica's scene but his braveness and risky singing betrayed him this time.

Favorite tracks: Indifferent and The Tale Of the Moon and the Sun. Have to point out the electronic elements, perfect soundscapes (Silent Waters) and Juan Pablo´s trademark playing. Something great about this band is how easy it is to identify their music. In general Dandelion is a pretty good album, quite different from ARMOP and this is something positive to highlight. Great Costa Rican band, great effort. Almost 4 stars

Dandelion presents an stronger Time's Forgotten, with heavier guitar work, and more intricate compositions and musicianship, but still keeping the -now traditional- Time's Forgotten sound. I've always said that, when you can pick a band over the others just by indentifying their trademark sound, it's a sign that they are doing things good.

The musical landscape that Dandelion presents us is very wide; going from the typical prog-metal-technical riffs, to some mellow rock-related passages, finding on the way some strokes of electronic music, classic mellotron moments, irish-esque flute passages, and some mystic chants and melodies that carry us to a very picturesque portrait. But don't let that variety of sounds fool you, all the music spins around a centric idea, making the album feel like a whole, and not like a bunch of song thrown there nosenseless .

Longui (main vocalist) surpass himself by a very wide margin (in comparison to the first release). On of my first complains about "A relative moment of peace" was his performance. I was by no means bad, BUT, neither was at the quality of the whole album. On "Dandelion" he sounds a lot lot better his highs are pretty impressive, and the soft, mellower parts works very good for him too, that helped by the fact that the quality recording if very good, same with the vocal melodies.

Speaking of vocal melodies, Time's Forgotten really knows when and how to used them right. Most of the time, there are several layer of voice on the mix, adding a great touch to the music, and in more specific cases, there are very memorable chorus (keeping the catchy Time's trademark) present on the whole album. "Everything's not lost" and "Backhome" comes to mind. Also, we can't left unmentioned "Welcome you my night" (Best song on the album, in my opinion), with its epic chants at the beginning-end.

Fortunately, the rifting is also catchy, yet at the same time very powerful and intricate. I can even venture to say that the guitar work is the best part of the whole picture. It's obvious that the band put a lot of effort on getting this right, and they succeeded very well. From the electro-disco feeling present on "Indifferent", to the heavy-crunchy riff (Paired with a nice vocal work) at the middle of "The Tale of Moon and Sun", every song had their single special something that can make stand among the others

My only significant complaint is that, the flute / Celtic passages could have been a lot more linked to the song itself. Sometimes, although they sound cool, these irish-esque parts feels very very separate from the song,

Overall, this is a very recommended album for both those who enjoy some Progressive Metal, and for those who also enjoy some good, softer prog rock. Summarizing even more, this album should be accessible for everyone that enjoys good music.

4.4 / 5

INDISPENSABLE IN ANY PROGRESSIVE METAL COLLECTION!!!

"A relative moment of piece" is a solid and refreshing release full of several nuances brought from folk, progressive metal and ethnic music. This album a musical journey where you can feel influences from Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Shadow Gallery, Enchant, and Queensryche mixed with keyboard and guitar instrumental passages that remind Pink Floyd. There are electronic elements and a very intense atmosphere with an emotive musical structure that reminds fine neo-progressive European bands like Clepsydra and Satellite.

THE MUSIC

This album is not another "Dream Theater" clone or an experimental album exploring new sounds. Instead, this is a multifaceted album different from any other in progressive metal scene, because it balances properly the aggressive sound of the 90's progressive metal with the freshness of subtle symphonic elements.

The exceptional production allows this band to have a crystalline and transparent sound. The use of violin, female vocals, electronic interventions, violin solos, jazz guitar arrangements that reminds Frank Gambale, and acoustic passages are some of the proper elements of "Time's Forgotten" that makes it original.

The epic "This troubled heart of mine" lasts about 35 minutes and is divided in four parts where emotion, tears, anger, sadness and the will of change takes place. When the last track finishes, there are some minutes of silence before an acoustic outro takes place, just in the same way Shadow Gallery ends his "Carved in Stone" album.

THE CONCEPT

This album has an implicit concept in which the main character finds himself alone and is wrapped in sadness and desperation due to sentimental troubles. This person is tied to a series of vivid memories that he confuses with reality. In these memories, a failed love takes place. He tries to escape from that state of desolation and after a series of inner conflicts he reaches his freedom.

CONCLUSION

"A Relative Moment of Peace" is an indispensable album for any progressive fan eager for fresh excellent music and innovative ideas.

GOOD PROGRESSIONS!!!