Eynomia – Sea Of Tears (CD)

Eynomia – Sea Of Tears (CD)

US melodic metal band Eynomia released their debut album “Break Free” in 2018. Seven years later the follow-up is here. The album kicks off with “To The End” which I guess could be placed somewhere between power metal and prog metal. A cool and energetic up-tempo track with killer vocals from Phyllis Rutter. A great quirky guest solo from Michael Abdow. “Jekyll And Hyde” keeps the pace high and something I pointed out when I reviewed the band’s first album, is that I shall admit I’m not a huge fan of power metal, but this band manages to keep it on the right side of power metal, much more interesting and proggy enough to make me a believer and I’m also a big fan of Phyllis who has a raspy quality to her voice that sets her apart from most other female power metal singers, something I really like. Great guitar solo from Chris Bickley in this one, too! “Mask Of Vengeance” takes it down in tempo and adds a heavy melancholic touch that almost reminds me a bit of Evergrey, which I really like. Here they also add the guest vocal talents of Mike Vescera, which gives it a new dimension. I shall however point out I’m however not 100 % happy with the mix of the album. It sounds a bit dense, overpowering and compact and listening to the entire album in one go gets you a bit of auditory fatigue. The title track does offer a short bit of relief with its soft start. “Reborn” is another cool melodic proggy tune with stellar vocals from Phyllis. “The Demon Inside” is another killer track with a heavy vibe with a sort of medieval melodic touch to the chorus. “The One” takes it all in a different more straight-ahead melodic direction which offers a nice new vibe. This one I would actually label power metal with its sing-along chorus, but Eynomia still manage to keep it interesting. “Time Will Come” takes us back into the heavier melancholic sphere. A power number, indeed! The album finishes on an up-tempo note with “Set Back”, a proggy metal number with lots of cool twists and turns and Phyllis getting all bluesy and raw in the mid section – love it!. Conclusion – a splendid album that should attract fans of both melodic metal, power metal and more proggy stuff. Highly recommended!

Country: USA

Label: self-released

Year: 2025

Chris Bickley – Digital Reflection (CD)

This is US guitarist Chris Bickley’s second effort (it should be noted he also plays with the resurrected 70s American rockers Thunderhead). His first album, Tapestry Of Souls, was a good start, but on Digital Reflection he has definitely perfected his crafts. The album has a better flow, stronger song material and definitely a way better mix. Yes, this is a (mainly) instrumental guitar album, but Chris does write really good songs where the guitar handles the “vocals”, so not only a lot of shredding, but actual melodies. Chris is backed by bassist Dino Fiorenza and drummer Gaetano Nicolosi, both great musicians who provide a solid foundation for Chris guitar playing. Dino also does some pretty impressive slapping here and there. Furthermore, Jimmy Pitts fills out the cracks and crevices with some nice keyboards. The album also features some other guest guitarists, such as Adrian English and Mike Abdow. The songs range from mid/up-tempo rockers to soft and nice ballads such as Arigato and one of the two vocal tracks, Tragedy (sung by Steve Johnstad). The other vocal track is a surprising cover of Iron Maiden’s Wasted Years, sung by Teri Lane. She does a good job, even though I would have wished for a bit more edge and a little less vibrato. It’s a good track, but I honestly don’t think it fits that well into the rest of the material. If Chris would’ve made an instrumental version it would maybe have been a bit more fitting. Well, the rest of the material kicks ass, and it’s a great album indeed! Shredding is alive and well!

Janne Stark

Country: USA

Year: 2017

Label: Shredguy Records