EPYSODE

I suppose that, Samuel Arkan, Virus IV's guitar player, as almost all the co-creators that moving at the same prog metal parallel universes, must have so much stuff to express, so they are making one after another projects to drain their inspiration. So Samuel, stepping himself too over Arjen Lucassen's Ayreon idea, inspired by big musical productions, he gathered a summary of already certified musicians ( in spite of they aren't so well known outside of progressive metal style) and a few excellent vocalists and, after he corraled them in Hansen Studios, they all together worked upon his new "Fantasmagoria" album, a long- termed, 14 tracked concept set. In comparison with "Obsessions" debut, new stuff is a evolutionary step in every side you hear it, with multifarious compositions, excellent production and emotionally intensed. Having available high vocal personalities such as Tom S. Englund (Evergrey) (that he's contributing on 5 album's tracks) and Ida Haukland (Triosphere) (she actually shines on the self titled song), Arkan is developing intellectual, progressive metal, worth to be ambitious about the status is hoping to get.

You could take as disadvantage the number of the songs, refering on the total quality of the album, but this possibility just don't happens here. Songs aren't tiring, for instead they are well watched to their last details, with high leveled and mostly fresh ideas, creating a huge number of emotions.

I have to confess that, even after multiple listenings, I am not assimilated completely to the new stuff, but I separated many beautiful moments even from the first time of audition. By piano made intro "File 4180-2" and the following "The Arch" (truly, the building riff is a manic one), 'till "The Unreal" epilogue, I lived basically very good guitar sounds, heavy on their majority, building a compact wall upon to, Julien Spreutels (Ethernity) virtuoso keyboards, sonically imprinting concept's atmospheres while the Leo Margarit's (Pain Of Salvation) obviously progressive metal's drumming style, is almost undescribable of words. "Forgotten Symphony" and "The Inheritance", are two more tremendous songs but I hardly can find any of them inferior.

Of course, a big slice of this performance belongs to "Fantasmagoria"'s special guests. Henning Basse (ex-Metallium), Simone Mularoni (DGM) and Tezzi Persson (Between The Silence) on vocals, on drums is Leo I mentioned before, master Mike LePond (Symphony X) on bass "paints on canvas" as he has used us all these years and Matt Marinelli (Borealis) is good enough on sharing guitar parts with the central mind, Samuel.

"Fantasmagoria" is a complete release, surely worth to buy it by everyone who sets himself friendly to atmospheric, pomp metal. Has individual personality, songs are flowing as morning, alleviative pissing, doesn't tires you and fairly is a valued suggestion to the present of music industry. A forward step for this multi-talented musician called Samuel Arkan and the staring artist parade he invited for help. Ayreon and Avantasia can be sure that their offspring is as decent as they could expect.

Very good, highly recommended.

I've been waiting months for this album to come out knowing who was going to be contributing

Vocalists :

Henning Basse

Ida Haukland

Matt Marinelli

Tezzi Persson

Tom Englund

MUSICIANS : Samuel Arkan - Virus IV

Julien Spreutels - Ethernity

Leo Margarit

Mike Lepond

Simone Mularoni

It's a continuation of the last album and it starts off with a beautiful interlude then kicks in with Tom Englund on THE ARCH this album has some fast ripping Rhythm tracks with superb soloing by DGM's Simone Mulroni and Symphony X's Mike Lepond the drums by Pain of Salvations Leo Margarit

I'm not going to review each song, but will tell you there is no fillers of any kind on this album each vocalist give's their all to each performance and that Jacob Hansen's production is SUPERB!! every note is heard and felt, vocalist's are crystal clear.

Sam Arkan has created a Masterpiece of Dark Prog/Power Metal I personally think this album is a notch up from the first, I can't imagine how he will top this one!

Some of my favorite tracks are the following:

Fantasmagoria The Black Parade Morning Rose Ravens Curse T.H.O.R.N.S Forgotten Symphony

If you loved the first album and enjoy the Darkside of Progressive Music then this is a "Must Have" album, I would even say one of the top 5 Prog Metal Albums of the year!!

With members from Pain of Salvation, Virus IV, Ethernity, At Vance, Adagio, and Communic among others Epysode surely is somewhat of a supergroup.

Stylistically, this is progressive power metal with focus on melody and vocals. There are no less than five vocalists, each with their own unique singing style, and this obviously generates of variation in the vocals department and and there are plenty of harmonies and duets, and other interesting goodies. This does not mean that the music is deprioritized; like the singers, the musicians are highly skilled. The music is varied and dynamic, and alternates between rich and heavy sections, groovy sections, more melodic sections, ballad passages and more traditional power metal sections, and the keyboards contribute with both symphonic and spacey effects.

Epysode belong to the same category as Star One, Ayreon, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Consortium Project - that is, multi-vocalist metal opera projects whose releases are typically concept albums. In this case the lyrical concept blends horror and crime, and thus Epysode's "Obsessions" has something in common with acts like King Diamond and Albatross.

Unlike some of my fellow reviewers, I do not think that the production is too polished, and my impression is that the production suits the style and mood(s) on the album quite ell.

Epysode's "Obsessions" is a solid progressive power metal opera release, and is recommended for fans of prog power metal in general and fans of Ayreon, Star One and similar bands specifically.

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)

The major success of star-studded metal operas from acts like Ayreon, Star One, and Avantasia has clearly had a large impact on the progressive power metal landscape, and now it seems that more and more seasoned musicians are taking a stab at this format of music making. Epysode is Samuel Arkan's (of Virus IV fame) first attempt at a bombastic prog metal opera, complete with a lyrical concept, top-notch guest vocalists, and impressive session musicians. Obsessions is the first (and hopefully not final) album from this project, and the sleek melodic progressive power metal style exemplified here is sure to win over fans of Evergrey, Symphony X, Star One, and the like. Obsessions isn't without its flaws, but it's an impressive debut from this ambitious project.

One glance at Epysode's lineup is sure to have plenty of progressive metal fans drooling all over their computer screens. In addition to guitarist Samuel Arkan of Virus IV, you also have Kristoffer Gildenlöw on bass (Pain of Salvation, The Shadow Theory, For All We Know), Leo Margarit on drums (Pain of Salvation), Christophe Godin on guitar (The M'rglbl Trio), and keyboard player Julien Spreutels (Ethernity). As you can probably imagine, the musicianship is just about as professional as it gets - the rock solid rhythm section, blinding guitar leads, and tasteful keyboards always get the job done right, and it's always a pleasure to hear such a fantastic cast of musicians on one album. The vocal cast is just as, if not even more, appealing than the instrumental lineup - the singing talents on Obsessions further deepen the conceptual feeling of the album, and the vocalists themselves all deliver fantastic performances. A lineup that consists of Kelly Carpenter (Beyond Twilight, Darkology), Oddleif Stensland (Communic), Rick Altzi (At Vance, Thunderstone), Magali Luyten (Ayreon, Beautiful Sin, Virus IV) and Liselotte Hegt (Ayreon, Dial) should undoubtedly catch the eye of most prog/power metal fans.

In addition to the strong musicianship in all departments, the music and lyrics are also exceptionally well-written and cohesive. Epysode embrace the concept album format on Obsessions, and the lyrics tell a story about a police officer who must investigate a strange string of homicides that lead him to multiple supernatural encounters that slowly unravel more and more about the mysterious crimes. A very interesting and original concept indeed, the lyrics of Obsessions often bring the epic heavy metal horror stories of King Diamond to mind. The songwriting is a bit "conventional" by progressive power metal standards, but I don't mean that to sound like a bad thing at all. Expect plenty of heavy riffs, melodic choruses, and instrumental acrobatics on Obsessions - a band like Everygrey certainly wouldn't be a bad point of reference. I would've liked a bit more originality and experimentation in Epysode's sound, but it isn't a major issue when the music is this well-written and professionally crafted.

My major gripe with Obsessions ultimately lies in the hands of the production. Despite being mixed and mastered by famed metal producer Tommy Hansen, I can't shake the feeling that the sound here is exceptionally weak. Not in a "lo-fi" sense, but more in the generic, overproduced, and sterile nature of the production. While that's not a crippling flaw by itself, the super-loud mixing gives Obsessions an almost "muddy" quality that I doubt was the intended effect.

Epysode may not have crafted a flawless debut here, but it's a very solid effort that fans of progressive power metal will undoubtedly get a kick out of. If you also enjoy a nice thriller concept story, that's yet another reason to give Obsessions a shot. A big 3.5 stars are deserved in this case. Obsessions is an impressive album marred by a weak production - if you're able to easily look over production-related flaws, I'd recommend this album in a heartbeat. One of the better progressive power metal albums from 2011 for sure, people who enjoy the catchy intricacy of Evergrey's early albums, the heavy-edged prog metal of Symphony X, and the operatic tendencies of Ayreon should be sure to give this debut album a shot.