ELYSIUM THEORY — Modern Alchemy (review)

ELYSIUM THEORY — Modern Alchemy album cover Album · 2010 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Andyman1125
A not-so Modern debut

Elysium Theory is one of the slew of new 'Bedroom Producer' bands, with bands forgoing the traditional record label to record and release albums on their own. Sometimes this is an amazing success, with many albums having spectacular production and making for a wonderful independent album. However, I really can't say the same for Elysium Theory's Modern Alchemy. Although the album is full of some really cool compositions, I have quite a bone to pick with the muddy production of the album, and I can't help but think that this sub-par quality hinders the otherwise decent music. Overall, the album is certainly not a horrible album, but I have to say it sounds a bit like the older progressive metal albums of the late 80s and early 90s and sounds a bit outdated.

This 'outdated' sound may have been sought after, as the band seems to have an obvious influence of the progressive metal bands of the era, but now, 20 years after the emergence of the innovative genre, the innovation has worn off. I feel like this is would be a much more critically acclaimed album if it were much older. Of course this album is not bad, with some really great moments with creative melodies and some really cool instrumental passages. I do have to mention, however, that the singer's voice does grate on me. Whether it's just the slightly nasally quality of the voice or just the production muddling his inflection, it almost ruins some of the music. It's not all bad, with some passages being really nice for his voice. But I have to say the best aspect of this album is the instrumental piece, which at times can get a little choppy. Overall, however, this album is a decent display of somewhat retro progressive rock with a metal twinge.

In the end, the album is overall less than your average prog album, but is in no way a bad album. Compositionally, many of the songs are fantastic, with some really great melodies and rhythmic structures. However, mostly due to the production quality of the music, the music is muddled a bit and has a much less dynamic and enjoyable quality to it. Although the album isn't bad, it also isn't spectacular. It is a nice debut for an emerging band, but has too much of an outdated and muddled sound to it. 3- stars.
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

Tarantula Heart Sludge Metal
MELVINS
Buy this album from MMA partners
God Damned You To Hell Traditional Doom Metal
FRIENDS OF HELL
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Absence Melodic Death Metal
THE ABSENCE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Unextinct Technical Death Metal
HIDEOUS DIVINITY
Buy this album from MMA partners
Powerlords Power Metal
ELETTRA STORM
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Fallen Ashes - Wage War (Official Lyric Video)
FALLEN ASHES
Bosh66· 5 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Unreality (Single) 2024
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 5 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Cold Hands
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 5 days ago
IRON MONKEY - Misanthropizer (Official Music Video)
IRON MONKEY
Bosh66· 8 days ago
??? (Losing ART) - "????" (Official Music Video) [HD]
漂浮者樂團
Bosh66· 8 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