OBSESSIONS

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)