Warthur Although Stream of Passion are essentially an Ayreon by-product, having kicked off as a side project between Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Marcela Bovio, they've now got multiple albums under their belt without Lucassen being involved in the band, ol' AAJ having returned to his first love. What we get here is tasteful symphonic metal with gothic overtones, competently performed and spiced up by the presence of Bovio's violin - which is actually a fairly subtle presence this time around, adding textures here and there for the most part rather than grabbing centre stage. Happily, the band also show discernment with the running time, keeping things under 55 minute rather than cramming up the gaps on the CD with filler. Not earth-shatteringly brilliant but if you're in a symphonic metal mood it'll probably hit the spot - though it equally won't present you with anything you haven't heard a thousand times before in this subgenre.

kluseba I saw this band on their last Canada tour and thought that they had given a charming and entertaining show even if the band doesn't offer something new to the emerging genre of female fronted symphonic metal bands with power metal influences. They deliver solid and short tracks without too much kitsch and keep a good balance between satisfying guitar solos and keyboard passages. The voice of the Mexican singer is nothing outstanding and reminds of a little bit of Floor Jansen from After Forever and ReVamp but sometimes also of Sabine Edelsbacher from Edenbridge. I would still prefer the mentioned bands to Stream of passion because After Forever are known for their surprising experiments while Edenbridge have many epic and very progressive songs in their diversified repertoire. I think I must not mention that genre leaders like Nightwish are from a different planet, too.

The problem with this record is that most of the songs sound as if we have already heard them somewhere else and as there is not much diversity on the album, especially the middle part of the album gets very long and boring. Songs like "Games We Play" are very ordinary and I ask myself why this kind of music is still written nowadays as we have all heard that over and over again. The boring piano ballad "Run Away" is even worse and is filled with many clichés and a lot of kitsch which enemies of the genre often criticize.

You can't find a couple of good average songs on this album like "A Part Of You" that reminds a lot of Edenbridge and as I like this band I also like this indirect homage to them. The Radiohead cover song "Street Spirit" is a very progressive and powerful track but still only a cover track. It would be great if the band would write this kind of songs for their next record and head for a more progressive touch as they do a convincing job with this one.

There are still a few well done songs on the record. "The Art Of Loss" is a good opener, tight and yet quite diversified in comparison to the rest of the record. The other really good song on this record is "Burn My Pain" with its experimental, dark and atmospheric vibes that give the whole thing a slightly Asian folk touch. I must also admit that "In The End", though it is almost a cheesy pop song, is catchy as hell and does a very good job and also works well live.

After all, this album keeps the balance between inoffensive ordinary songs and a couple of catchy tracks. The band is sympathetic and I would wish them to find their own style soon because some little glimpses of genius are already well hidden on this record. But after all, this album is rather enjoyable background music and not yet a breakthrough. This band is only one out of many. The next time, they should put more heart, soul and uniqueness in their album and I will surely give them another chance.

cold103 One of the best concerts I have ever seen! There is never a dull moment. Some of the songs sound different than they did originally, but I do not think that is a bad thing. Valley of the Queens has drumming, it originally did not. This version of the song is also heavier. Other songs that sound different do so because of a change of singer(s). They do well while covering Led Zeppelin's When the Levee Breaks. I prefer that cover over the original! Marcela Bovio sings well and emotionally. She's a good multi-tasker. There are moments when she transitions well and in good time from singing to playing the violin and vice versa. Pretty much half of the time Stream of Passion material is played. And the other half of the time, Ayreon material is played. The whole concert is performed very well. If the songs aren't as good as they were originally, they're very close to being as good.