AFFECTOR — Harmagedon (review)

AFFECTOR — Harmagedon album cover Album · 2012 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
The rapture...

Genre: progressive metal

Affector is an international super group that whose line-up includes members from Spock's Beard, Dilemma and Symphony X. "Harmagedon" is the band's debut album and something of an ambitious affair offering up sophisticated and melodic progressive metal.

After a perhaps somewhat misleading introduction in the form of the hyper-symphonic 'Overture pt. 1: Introduction', the album really kicks off with a melodic and technically impressive instrumental tune, in which the guitarist Daniel Fries' skills on the fretboard shine through. 'Salvation' is the first track on the album to feature vocals, and Ted Leonard's clean vocals fits the melodic but technical style quite well. This combination of melody and technicality works excellently, and there are enough odd meters and other quirks to appease most fans of progressive metal. At the same time, the melodies quite catchy, and the music is generally quite accessible. The song structures are dynamic and complex with a track like 'Cry Song' being a nice little prog rock ballad. A main feature of almost all the tracks on the disc is that there are many unexpected out-of-the-blue changes in time, tempo and whatnot. This may not be something that pleases everyone, but personally I have always had a weakness for that kind of antics.

The musicians that constitute Affector are highly competent and professional. Both guitar and keyboard solos (with guest performances by the likes of Alex Argento, Neal Morse, Jordan Rudess and Derek Sherinian) are technically advanced and impressive, while the rhythm department is robust and rock steady, and the dynamic vocals are clear and clean. The production is polished and well defined, and this is a positive feature when it comes to this type of technically advanced rock music, because it means that you can hear all the details.

The lyrics have strongly oriented towards Christianity, and it is not something all metal heads are happy about, but it is certainly something I can live with in this case. Personally I am critical towards all religion, but at the same time I respect the need and the rights of the individual to express and celebrate his or her religious beliefs (that being said, I also reserve the right to ignore other people's expressions of religious beliefs if I so choose). The Christian lyrics are not cheesy or silly (I mean just compare "Harmagedon" to the Christian silliness of Golden Resurrection's "Man with a Mission"), and it is easy to divert one's attention from the lyrics and onto the very appealing music itself. You can always hear some Slayer or old Sepultura, if you need to be de-Christianized afterwards.

Affector's Armageddon is more than a decent work of progressive metal which is simultaneously challenging and catchy, and the album should, musically, appeal to fans of progressive metal.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Opus Ferox II - Mark Of The Beast Progressive Metal
LOCH VOSTOK
Buy this album from MMA partners
Rankarumpu Folk Metal
KORPIKLAANI
Buy this album from MMA partners
… And the Universe Keeps Silent Death Metal
MAERE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Le bannissement Atmospheric Black Metal
CANTIQUE LÉPREUX
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tarantula Heart Sludge Metal
MELVINS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Fallen Ashes - Wage War (Official Lyric Video)
FALLEN ASHES
Bosh66· 9 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Unreality (Single) 2024
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 9 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Cold Hands
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 9 days ago
IRON MONKEY - Misanthropizer (Official Music Video)
IRON MONKEY
Bosh66· 11 days ago
??? (Losing ART) - "????" (Official Music Video) [HD]
漂浮者樂團
Bosh66· 12 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed