J-Man Despite being fairly well-versed in progressive metal from around the world, I can't say that I've run across too many Argentinian acts that belong to this genre. This certainly makes Thabu a unique asset to the country's metal scene, as their mix of traditional progressive metal and heavy-edged US power metal is quite different from what most other Argentinian bands are up to. Their second album, entitled Reborn and released by Pure Prog Records at the tail end of 2012, is also a pretty solid listen; although it doesn't chart any new territory, Reborn is an enjoyable slab of hard-edged progressive power metal.

When listening to Thabu, the first name that comes to mind is immediately Symphony X. While calling Thabu a clone act might be a bit unfair, they come dangerously close on Reborn - their mix of dark power metal riffs, melodic keyboard lines, soaring vocals, and progressive tempo changes sounds an awful lot like some of Symphony X's earlier offerings, and James Robeldo's gruff and powerful vocal style sounds eerily similar to Russell Allen at times. Comparisons to Russell Allen are always a compliment in my book, but it does detract from Thabu's already questionable originality. Reborn does contain some impressive progressive metal compositions, however, with the powerful opening track “A Game of Lies”, the seriously heavy “Hunting Sinners”, and the quirky instrumental “Violentango” (even if it is an odd choice for a closing track) particularly standing out.

All of Reborn is well-composed and exceptionally played, though, so progressive metal listeners should have no problem enjoying what Thabu has to offer. Although the album's muffled production is mildly detrimental to my overall listening experience, as is the band's generally 'safe' attitude, Reborn sports enough high points to outweigh its shortcomings. Thabu's sophomore offering may not be essential, but any fan of Symphony X, Evergrey, and Anubis Gate would be proud to have this in their collection.

Time Signature Crushing and catchy...

Genre: progressive metal

Hailed as one of very few progressive bands on the otherwise quite extensive Argentinian metal scene, Thabu represents the heavier end of the progressive metal without going into extreme metal territory.

More in the vein of recent Symphony X than, say, your Dream Theater- or Fates Warning-clones, Thabu do inject elements from US power metal into their brand of progressive metal. Thus, the songs build on considerably heavy guitar figures - at times crushingly heavy - with slight hints of groove every now and then, accompanied by dynamic bass patterns that sound like they are played on a fretless bass. James Robledo's vocals have a raw edge to them, and sound inspired by Ronnie James Dio - thus he is contributes both a raw edge and an extra layer of melody. As is pretty much traditional in progressive metal, Thabu feature keyboards on this release, but they normally stay in the background, providing some atmosphere, and are only rarely allowed to step up to the forefront.

While not really self-indulgent, we are dealing with music performed by very able musicians. There definitely are elements of virtuosity - in particular in the extremely impressive guitar solos. The drums are rock solid and seem to actually make the odd time signatures that pop up every now and then seem less inaccessible than they already are. Needless to say, we are also dealing with skilled songwriters who understand how to make challenging compositions which are still quite accessible and memorable. 'Theatre of Faith' is a good example of this, while the instrumental 'Remains of Reality' represents Thabu at their from less accessible (and, of course, this is a brilliant instrumental!).

For my money, Thabu's "Reborn" is a brilliant progressive metal release, which takes cues from the giants in the genre, but which is still very much an entity in its own right. Fans of Symphony X and Anubis Gate might also like this one.