Spheric Universe Experience - Anima
Prog-Metal, at least for me, has become a bit of a tired genre. There are few bands at the moment writing songs that are convincingly entertaining in the more traditional areas of Prog, and the more avante-garde genuinely progressive music is moving so far away from it's roots it can't be considered the same as when it started any more. So I was pleasantly surprised when I heard 'Anima' by French progsters Spheric Universe Experience, here is a prog-metal album with all the cheese, solos and strange keyboard noises you want which most importantly [I] isn't boring[/I].
Spheric Universe Clearly show their influences on their sleeve; a bit of Dream Theater, some of the rockier moments of Evergrey and a healthy dose of all the classic prog-rock bands mixed together into a big progressive orgasm. Frankly from the opening to the closing song the album has no obvious weak points or flat tracks, if you like Progressive Metal, you'll find something in each and every track to entertain you. The album is perhaps slightly on the long side, so if you have a short attention span you might find yourself lost in the sometimes meandering instrumental sections, but on the whole this wasn't a problem for me.
This is definitely one for the musicians as well, with three instrumental tracks of various quality ('Being', 'Stormy Dome' and 'Black Materia') on the album. Indeed the vocals on this album are not really the focus, and instead the band are more content to spend time soloing rather than anything else, but this is not necessarily a bad thing! Often bands simply feel content to throw in a single instrumental as a rather casual thing, so it's interesting for a band to actually put thought and effort into their instrumentals as Spheric Universe Experience have done.
Overall then 'Anima' is a solid progressive metal album. Rather than simply coasting by on a typical prog sound, Spheric Universe Experience actually write songs that excite and entertain the listener rather than plod by in a self-indulgent haze. Whilst there is a lot of widdling, and a lot of bleepy-bloppy stuff which may put off those who try to be a bit "cool" with their music tastes, 'Anima' is a great album and is definitely worth a listen.