UMUR "My Dark Symphony" is an EP (mini-album) release by Norwegian progressive heavy/power metal act Conception. The EP was released through Conception Sound Factory in November 2018 and marks the return of Conception after their 1998 breakup (although they shortly reunited in 2005). Their last release before this one was their fourth full-length studio album "Flow" from 1997. It´s however not that the four members of Conception have been inactive in the intermediate years as lead vocalist Roy Khan had a longer stint with Kamelot, guitarist Tore Østby shortly played with D.C. Cooper and then formed Ark, and drummer Arve Heimdal and bassist Ingar Amlien have both kept busy with black/death metal act Crest of Darkness.

"My Dark Symphony" features six tracks and a total playing time of 26:41 minutes, so while it´s just short of being an album length release, it´s close enough in terms of quantity and getting your money´s worth. "Flow" is generally not the most lauded release in Conception´s discography and a lot of fans don´t feel that Conception went out on a high with that album, so expectations for "My Dark Symphony" probably varied from excitement to concern...

...well there was nothing to be concerned about. First of all "My Dark Symphony" sounds unmistakably like Conception, which means clever, sophisticated, and melodic progressive heavy/power metal in the vein of early- to- mid-90s Queensrÿche. So it´s heavy/power metal with subtle progressive tendencies where the song is in focus and not odd time signatures and other progressive metal noodling. Khan is a worldclass singer with a strong voice and a passionate delivery, and the rest of the band are skilled and well playing musicians too.

"My Dark Symphony" features a clear, powerful, and detailed sound production, which is perfect for this type of music and upon conclusion "My Dark Symphony" is a strong comeback release from Conception. It definitely makes you realise that they´ve been missed. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.