Time Signature Imaginary world...

Genre: progressive metal

Obviously inspired by the likes of Fates Warning and Queensrÿche, Brazilian prog metallers are nonetheless quite original in sound and, in the third full length effort "The Devil's Dance", they are created a near-masterpiece.

Ivory Gates are one of those bands, whose style is fully progressive - making use of complex song structures, longer tracks, add time signatures and technically advanced playing, but whose music actually comes across as being quite accessible and even with potential for broader appeal than just the hordes of progressive metal fans out there.

On "The Devil's Dance", they thus display all the virtues of progressive metal, but their compositions are hugely melodic and generally very pleasant to listen to, and most of the track on the album - ranging from the 5 minutes groovy classic metal-oriented title track to the 21+ minutes epic track 'Suite Memory' have just as much feel to them as they do technicality and complexity. The album rocks hard in several places, and Ivory Gates also understand the power of guitar harmonies which they use in several places to great effect (just check the firt passage of 'Endless Nightmare' and the main theme of 'Serpent's Kiss'.

We are dealing with very good progressive metal, indeed, and the musicianship is pretty much impeccable. Drawing on traditional metal as well as power metal, Ivory Gates make sure that their music remains solid at all times. I like the quality of the vocals, which include fluid, but essentially quite simple and captivating, vocal lines.

Fans of progressive metal, and Fates Warning specifically (let it be known that, we are not dealing with an FW rip off here - it is just that Ivory Gates are not afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves) should definitely check this release out. It's progressive and sophisticated, but it rocks hard and is quite accessible.