SONGS OF DYING STARS: THE TREE OF LIFE

"Songs Of Dying Stars: the tree of life)" is an EP release by Russian progressive metal act Agnost Dei. The EP is a self-released affair. "Songs Of Dying Stars: the tree of life)" contains three tracks that form the "Tree of Life" suite. The EP is 19:13 minutes long. The EP can be seen as a teaser to the "take a look: 2010 A.D." album, that was released in October 2010. All three tracks also apppear on the full-length album. Since the release of "A Place, Where is No Time (2007)" the band have added lead vocalist NicKK (Nikita Gaydukov) to the lineup and the band have begun to sing in English instead of Russian.

The music on the EP is undeniably influenced by Dream Theater and their ilk, but Agnost Dei add a futuristic element to their progressive metal style that sets them apart from the pack. The change on the vocalist spot means that the vocals on "Songs Of Dying Stars: the tree of life)" are more regular progressive metal vocals than was the case on the debut album, which featured some pretty spacy and at times harsh type vocals. The three tracks form a concept and musically they fit well together and all sides of the band´s sound are explored. The EP gives a good insight into the new sound of the band.

As a teaser the EP is great, but taking into account that all songs on the EP are also present on the 2nd full-length studio album by the band, it´s doubtful that many besides the most hardcore fans will find much value here if they already have the "take a look: 2010 A.D." album. Still there´s nothing wrong with the quality of the music and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is well deserved.