Valarius
I first came across this band thanks to Progarchives.com, and instantly fell in love with the song 'The Beginning That Lies'. As a result I rushed out to get the album 'The Game' (which proved trickier than I thought, but I got there eventually).
Dreams of Sanity further prove my theory that any band with the word 'dream' in their name is instantly amazing. They have the exact element that makes up one of my favourite sounds in music: heavy, grooving guitar riffs with melodic keyboards.
Whilst I'm not a huge fan of female vocals, I find that vocalist Sandra Schleret's voice really does go well with the music, and this could probably be my first steps towards opening up to female singers in Metal.
Another great thing about this album is that, as a guitarist, I find these songs really fun to play. They sound great but unlike a band such as Dream Theater, there won’t be hours and hours dedicated to impossible solos and musical arrangements, some personal favourites being 'The Beginning That Lies', 'And So (I Walk On)' and 'We.II.Sea'. And sonically, the music sounds GREAT! The production is simply perfect on this album, with every musician given great care and dedication, it's so hard not to enjoy this.
Amazing album by a hugely underrated band, I'm really glad I stumbled upon this.