Persefone - Truth Inside the Shades (2004)^{Release ID: 7335}

Forget the critics who consider this band an "Opeth clone that deserves to stay forgotten". Persefone is a band that has their own sound going that deserves far more attention, and while they do have prominent Opeth influences, their sound I would say is melo-deathly progressive metal with neo-classical/gothic touches.

This unique sound isn't totally new. It utilizes the classic formula that combines fast heaviness and harsh vocals with soft sections of neo-classical piano, acoustic guitar, and clean vocals. And yet it stays fresh! The Andorran kings of metal know how to not heavily rely on technical structural sh*t but to give the formula a new taste of a contrast between beauty and chaos, all in songs that mostly go beyond 7 minutes.

The calm before the storm is the intro "My Unwithered Shrine" with a minute and a half of piano to make sure the album doesn't start off like any Dream Theater album you might know. Then with no hesitation, "The Whisper of Men" shocks you with the first ever heaviness to hear from this band, though it's short at just 5 minutes long.

The main dish of this meal is the 11-minute title track. Check it out for a great heap of brilliant deathly progressive metal! Following that is "Niflheim (The Eyes that Hold the Edge)", also a grand contender for the best structural song here.

Could you ever miss how "Atemporal Divinity" ends? No, you can't! However, the rest of that song seems to lack the method the previous songs have, sounding out of place. The majestic instrumental complexity of "The Demise of Oblivion" is never weak. It's Persefone's Crusade! Definitely get the Japanese edition with bonus track "The Haunting of Human's Denial". Here you find more progressive speed, darker mood, and a bit of acoustic flamenco. A must-have track, especially if you've listened to Spiritual Migration!

There are just so many different elements in this sound. I've focused a lot less on neo-classical metal now than 5 years ago, and I've moved out of melodeath. Yet they're mixed into a progressive metal sound that I enjoy, and fans of those other genres might. Who knew something big would rise from the unknown small country of Andorra....

Favorites: Truth inside the Shades, Niflheim (The Eyes that Hold the Edge), The Demise of Oblivion, The Haunting of Human's Denial (bonus track)