MaYaN - Dhyana (2018)^{Release ID: 9876}

Mayan is a side-project by Epica members Mark Jansen and Ariën van Weesenbeek. Many of the other members of the bands Jansen is in (including his former band After Forever) are as super talented as he is. Mayan has had a massive powerhouse of musicians of vocalists in their progressive/symphonic death metal albums. And after their starting duo of Quarterpast and Antagonise, here they are again in Dhyana (sounds like the name of someone I once knew)!

I had not followed Mayan since my big switch from epic melody to modern heaviness in my metal taste, and that switch happened just under a year before Dhyana came out. I just can't believe what I missed out until now! The band have sealed their balance between metal and orchestra without extra experimentation. The vocal department shines best from female vocalists Laura Macri and Marcela Bovio. The hauntingly beautiful soprano Laura was a session member for Quarterpast then joined the band full-time for Antagonise. The operatic energetic Stream of Passion vocalist Marcela was a session member for Antagonise then joined the band full-time for this album.

"The Rhythm of Freedom" is a glorious 7-minute opening track with different well-structured layers. Jansen and co. were reinventing the wheel and making it unbreakable. "Tornado of Thoughts (I Don't Think, Therefore I Am)" continues this powerful cauldron. "Saints Don't Die" throws back greatly to Quarterpast with the power metal vocals of Henning Basse, who was with the band since that album but left the band just before the release of Dhyana, while making a few guest appearances. The title track is an odd ballad. Despite being a interesting composition where the two female vocalists shine over classical/acoustic instrumentation, it doesn't seem that distinctive, rather being out of place in between the aggression of most other tracks. Still I like the uniqueness of that soft ballad.

"Rebirth from Despair" breaks the quietness with its soaring blast-beats and riff-wrath, complete with Marcela's serene vocal glory. One of the best and heaviest tracks here! "The Power Process" starts with the clean female singing duo who then rise into a duel with the deathly screamed vocals. Soon it leads to a calm piano bridge followed by a heavy talented guitar solo towards the end, all making things interesting. The 9-minute progressive epic "The Illusory Self" is the best way to summarize all this album has to offer, from the classic riffing to the epic choruses. This should've been the end of the album right there, but it's OK that it isn't, because there's more of the epicness to come...

Another ballad "Satori" consists mostly of just the expressive soprano vocals of Laura and mystical background orchestra. Then we moved into "Maya - The Veil Of Delusion" (I almost thought of that djenty deathcore band and the Cynic song they're named after). The boys just wanna have fun, as the all-male side of the vocal department shine in perfect intensity. Then "The Flaming Rage of God" has some more fury. Finally, "Set Me Free" ends the album as an excellent blazing anthem.

If there was anything that would renew my interest in the progressive/symphonic death metal of Mayan's first two albums, this is it. Dhyana has the best of what I once loved about those albums. I may be a more serious grown-up more interested in modern heaviness, but I'm slowly regaining memories of my epic melodic youth!

Favorites: "The Rhythm of Freedom", "Saints Don't Die", "Rebirth from Despair", "The Illusory Self", "Maya - The Veil Of Delusion", "Set Me Free"