The third
studio album from the members in the
amazing Swiss progressive metal band,
Appearance of Nothing is finally here!
Their awesome debut album' Wasted Time'
came in 2009 and in 2011 the killer
album 'All Gods Are Gone' hit the
market. Original drummer Yves Lüthi left
the band after 'All Gods are Gone' and
Appearance of Nothing signed Ronnie Wolf on as their
percussionists in 2011 and what a great
recruitment they have done with that guy.
Pat Gerber is still the front man and one
of the two vocalists, with his epic and
peculiar voice. Omar Cuna combines the
work as bass player and vocalist and
sings softer and takes higher tones than
Pat.
I discovered this band through
one of my good friends, who first found
them on Youtube when 'Wasted Time' was
released. I have been a very big fan
after that. Their progressive metal
evolution has been progressing on every
album and I believe that they have
climbed a big step higher on the
technical prog metal ladder with this
disc.
Only seven tracks are served on
'A New Beginning', but they clocks in from
the shortest song on 5 minutes to the
longest track 'A New Beginning' just
over 14 minutes. Very mature and complex
progressive metal with thrilling guitars
and insanely technical drumming from
Ronnie Wolf. Marc Petralito's keyboards are floating
like gentle balm in the
background and fills every eventual
sound hole. This isn't an album that is
slammed into my head after the first spin,
no it took at least five-six rounds
before things fell into the right places
in my ears.
Innovative and exciting
prog-metal with small flirts with the
modern metal with grunt and growl
vocals. The blend with tiny flavors
from modern incentives and their own
epic metal sound is healthy and keeps my
mind and brain in shape. The
amazing title track alone is worth all the
money. 'A New Beginning' is a musical
journey down in the Swiss dark, black
caves and up into the sunny, high alps
with their tempo variations, which are
just stunning. You can compare it with a
ride in a rollercoaster. Appearance of
Nothing keeps you
awake and alert all the way to the end
station.
I resist to pick any best songs
from this disc, because it changes
every time I try to dissect a song in
the track list. That's why I give this
album such a high score. Almost a
perfect result.
This is an album/band, which
demands a full-focus audience and I must
recommend that you give it a few spins
before it all sticks into your head.
If you are a fan of progressive metal
and in particular are a fan of Symphony
X, Dream Theater, Nevermore or
Redemption, you have another band you need to
add to make your
CD-collection complete.
Appearance of Nothing is:
Pat Gerber (Vocals/Guitar)
Omar Cuna (Vocals/Bass)
Peter Berger (Lead Guitar)
Marc Petralito (Keyboards)
Ronnie Wolf (Drums)
