UMUR "State of Deception" is the fifth full-length studio album by Norwegian progressive heavy/power metal act Conception. The album was released through Conception Sound Factory in April 2020. Conception disbanded in 1998 after releasing their fourth full-length studio album "Flow" (1997), but reunited in 2018 and released the "My Dark Symphony" EP (mini-album) in November 2018.

"My Dark Symphony" showed that Conception had not lost a beat in the years they were inactive as a band, and that their early - to mid-90s Queensrÿche influenced take on progressive heavy/power metal was alive and well. Stylistically Conception continue playing that style on "State of Deception" led by worldclass singer Roy Khan. They are an incredibly well playing band, which isn´t surprising as that has always been one of their many strengths, but they´ve also maintained a high quality songwriting level, and "State of Deception" is also packed in a clear, powerful, and detailed sound production, making this album a high quality release through and through.

Conception successfully balance their music with heavy riffs and rhythms and softer more melodic sections, and they excel at both. So upon conclusion "State of Deception" is another high quality release from conception and it´s a natural successor to "My Dark Symphony". Both releases displaying a mature but still hungry Conception. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

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.

UMUR "Flow" is the 4th full-length studio album by Norwegian power/progressive metal act Conception. The album was released through Noise Records in April 1997. It´s the successor to "In Your Multitude" from 1995. Like the case was on the predecessor, "Flow" features session musician Trond Nagell-dahl on keyboards. "Flow" would be the last release in Conception´s original run as they disbanded in 1998. Some members went on to form Ark, while lead vocalist Roy Khan joined Kamelot.

"Flow" is a slightly less progressive and more simple release than the direct predecessors, but the songwriting is still decent and at times of a good quality. Conception are a well playing band and lead vocalist Roy Khan is a high class singer with a strong voice and a commanding delivery. Stylistically the music is somewhat reminiscent of the late 90s/early 00s Queensrÿche releases (you know...the albums that people never talk about when discussing the otherwise brillant band). It´s mid-tempo polished heavy/power metal featuring relatively simple and rather dull riffs and rhythms, and only occasionally memorable vocal parts. It´s not bad quality music, but it´s something that´s almost worse...it´s music which leaves me indifferent.

"Flow" features a well sounding although maybe a bit too sterile and clean production job. Everything sounds professional, polished, and clear, but a little more grit and heaviness to the production, could maybe have provided some of the unremarkable compositions with a push in the right direction. That wasn´t to be though, and "Flow" therefore ends up a pretty unremarkable release in the discography of Conception. Still a 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong, there are after all a lot of quality elements featured on the album.

UMUR "In Your Multitude" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Norwegian power/progressive metal act Conception. The album was released through Noise Records in May 1995. It´s the successor to "Parallel Minds" from 1993 and features one lineup change as keyboard player Hans Christian Gjestvang´s has left. He has not been replaced here, so the keyboards are handled by session musician Trond Nagell-dahl.

Stylistically the material on "In Your Multitude" feel like the natural continuation of the power/progressive metal sound of "Parallel Minds (1993)". The sound is maybe slightly more progressive in nature than the music style on the predecessor, but it´s details which set the two albums apart. And that counts for both musical style and the high quality of the material featured on the two albums. Those expecting an explosion of progressive features like complex song structures, unconventional time signatures, or longer instrumental sections, should look somewhere else, as Conception may use those elements on occasion (like on the longer instrumental section on "A Million Gods"), but they are more in the power metal camp than in the progressive metal ditto. If I should make a comparison to a contemporary act which most people can relate to, I´d mention Queensrÿche, although the influence is only heard occasionally.

The high level musicianship is one of the greatest assets of "In Your Multitude", but anyone familiar with the preceding releases won´t be surprised by that. The instrumentalists are very well playing, and especially guitarist Tore Otsby delivers some strong riffs, very well played guitar solos, and loads of intriguing ideas to the musical landscape of the album. His playing is technical but still tasteful and restrained when the songs call for it. The rhythm section are skilled too and deliver the right heavy pounding performance to back up the riffs and the many great vocal melodies performed by lead vocalist Roy Khan. The latter mentioned is a singer extraordinaire with a strong voice and a powerful and varied delivery. The keyboards are mostly used for atmosphere, but there are moments on the album when they have a more prominent role.

"In Your Multitude" features a well sounding production job, which suits the music perfectly. There is power here and there is clarity enough to hear every detail being played/sung. So upon conclusion "In Your Multitude" is just the right step forward for Conception and it´s a high quality release deserving a 4 star (80%) rating.

UMUR "Parallel Minds" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Norwegian power/progressive metal act Conception. The album was released through Noise Records in September 1993. It´s the successor to "The Last Sunset" from 1991 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as session keyboard player Hans Christian Gjestvang has now become a permanent member of the band, making Conception a quintet on "Parallel Minds".

Conception continue the power metal style with progressive metal leanings they initiated on "The Last Sunset (1991)", but "Parallel Minds" is generally a much tighter and consistent release both in quality and style. The eclectic nature of the material on the debut album had its charm, but "Parallel Minds" is definitely a step up in quality. Conception are an interesting power metal act as they use both the lighter neo-classical and sometimes symphonic elements from the Euro power metal style and the more raw and heavy elements from the US power metal style (and also the melodic US power metal, which can be heard on the Queensrÿche influenced "The Promiser") and even add a few semi-progressive elements to spice the whole thing up.

The material are very well written. Cathcy, varied, melodic, heavy, and memorable, but it´s the incredible musicianship which is the icing on the cake. Roy Khan is a world class singer with a distinct sounding powerful voice and a commanding delivery, and the instrumentalist are also very skilled musicians. The rhythm section are solid and pounding out powerful beats and basslines, and guitarist Tore Otsby can´t be praised enough for his varied playing and many intriguing ideas (check out the heavy riff and the pinch harmonics on "My Decision"), while new man Gjestvang successfully creates atmosphere and epic moments but never in an abrasive manner. This is very tasteful power metal.

"Parallel Minds" features a well sounding professional sound production. Some may find the drums a little dry sounding, but personally I enjoy the tone of the drums and the production choices made regarding the drums and the rest of the instruments and the vocals. "Parallel Minds" is upon conclusion a high quality release through and through and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.