Borealis : Fall From Grace
by Franco Cerchiari
Staff Writer
With wicked fast guitars, soaring vocals, pounding drums and keyboards adding a progressive edge, Canada’s Borealis roars back with this massive attack on the senses. Touches of Symphony X, Evergrey with the metal of Accept only enhance this progressive metal outing.
By way of comparison to their earlier work, 2008’s World of Silence, the soon-to-be released Fall From Grace shows a much heavier, darker and more intense sound. They have taken a step into a new direction but still come across as cohesive, and all the instruments blend well. The guitar and the keyboards have their time in the spotlight coming in and out of earshot but never, at any time, do they seem to be competing for a place on the track.
Something new to the Borealis arsenal are the guttural vocals heard on the opening track, “Finest Hour.” From there, the band allows itself to take different turns, keeping the listener on their toes. To be certain, each track is, indeed, progressive metal but with some tracks more melodic than others, such as “Fall From Grace,” “Take You Over,” and “Forgotten Forever.” Others are furious prog metal rockers that leaves one gasping for air, such as “Regeneration” and “Breaking the Curse.” On the far end of the other spectrum, it is complete with gorgeous acoustic guitars, soothing keyboards that come with the introspective, soothing “Watch the World Collapse.” Such a diverse, eclectic group of music would send another band into an uncontrollable tailspin as it is, indeed, difficult to do each of these as well as Borealis does. But with solid guitar work, strong vocals and some of the most standout drums heard on a progressive metal release, it all comes together quite well.
Borealis, it seems, has come into its own, taking a mature approach to the songwriting, seeing what works and what it is that they do well. While perhaps a track or two seems to be long in it’s undertaking, such as “Regeneration,” the overall end result is Fall From Grace is a CD that is sure to please longtime fans of this greatly underrated band, and in the process, bring to its flock new fans who appreciate a harder-edged sound.
Genre: Progressive Metal
Track Listing:
Finest Hour
Words I Failed To Say
Fall From Grace
Where We Started
Breaking The Curse
Regeneration
Watch The World Collapse
Take You Over
Forgotten Forever
Musicians:
Matt Marinelli – vocals and guitars
Ken Fobert – guitars
Sean Werlick – keyboard
Sean Dowell – drums
Jamie Smith – bass
Guest Musician:
Jimi Patrick Maltais – death screams on “Finest Hour”
Label: Lion Music
Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5/10