ARTEMISIA

"Artemisia" is the second full-length studio album by Dutch progressive metal act Sun Caged. The album was released through Lion Music in March 2007. It´s the successor to the eponymously titled debut album from 2003. Sun Caged formed in 1999 after the demise of Dutch progressive metal act Lemur Voice, and the music style of Lemur Voice was pretty much carried over to Sun Caged.

So it´s still Dream Theater and Enchant, who are the greatest influences on Sun Caged. It´s all well composed, well performed and highly professional, but compared to the debut album there´s something off about the sound production on "Artemisia". The sound lacks warmth and bottom end heaviness, and it sometimes sounds like you´re listening to the album through a door or a closed window. It´s not a murky sounding production, but it sounds distant (if that makes sense). It´s a real shame that the production values end up having so much impact on the listening experience because as mentioned there´s nothing wrong with the music or the performances, which are high quality through and through. Sharp and heavy riffs, blistering melodic lead guitar playing, intricate rhythms, well played keyboards, and a strong lead vocalist in front, who can sing both regular and high pitched registers and sound convincing performing both.

So while "Artemisia" is a slight disappointment because of the sound production, which could arguably have been better sounding, it´s still a good quality progressive metal release in most other departments, and fans of artists like Dream Theater and Enchant (actually fans of something in between those two artists) should be able to find lots to appreciate here. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).