16/05/05

ANTIQUUS / RAMAYANA

Antiquus are a Five piece Progressive Metal band from Vancouver, Canada, their sound is similar to early Queensryche and Dream Theater with a bit of Malmsteen’s Rising Force mixed in fro good measure and despite this being their first CD it’s very ambitious and exceptionally good.

Both the musical and lyrical standards are set very high and they pull this off with such dexterity it just has to be heard to believe. The twin guitars are prevalent throughout but that doesn’t mean its heads down all the way because there are lots of dynamic on offer here and the six parts, 30 minute plus title track is based upon Hindu mythology and tells the story to great effect. The other songs subject matter ranges from Science Fiction, "Shapeshifter" to Historic events, "Battle of Eylau" ( Napoleon, if you were wondering) and all are done with the same care and attention.

This is a very ambitious debut and well worth tracking down, if you would like a copy go to the bands website below. I have a feeling this will be worth a fortune in a few years.

DOWNLOAD "Empires Rising" from the site above

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 60 mins + 10 TRACKS