Album Reviews
Behind the Emerald Starscape
REVIEW FROM METAL ASSAULT RADIO
Review: Sorizon "Behind the Emerald Starscape"
4.7/5
Anyone who knows me can tell you, I'm not typically a fan of progressive metal, So my goal when I agreed to review this album was to be objective and unbiased, and about 50 seconds into the lead track "Cosmic Eden" I realized that this wasn't going to be your typical progressive metal CD. Sorizon is indeed a progressive metal band, but they have added countless elements of other genres and styles and found their own sound. "Behind the Emerald Starscape" is the full length debut by Sorizon, and they are at this time unsigned, that being said they spared no expense, and sent the album to Mika Jussila (Children of Bodom, Dragonforce, Nightwish) at Finnvox Studios in Finland for mastering. The mix on this album is nothing, if not stellar. Everything on this album is powerful, and yet nothing gets lost in the mix, or over-powered.
As a band, Sorizon blends all elements of their sound flawlessly, Mann and Jorion (split duty on lead/rythem guitars) compliment each other like not many bands have done, Maiden and Priest come to mind. McIntosh on vocals has a strong voice, and amazing range ( not to mention the backing vocals are always melodic and in key). Hoffman (Bass) and Elston (Drums) keep everything tight and on most songs, very uptempo. Sorizon is full up on talented musicians and composer(s).
No two songs are the same, there's alot of feeling in the music, to the point it sometimes takes on a life of it's own, and you're along for the ride. Due to the fact i don't often get alot of time to listen to albums at my pc, I often take them in the car listen, and take them back out when I've finished, this one is staying in the car, and in the very near future will probably be the cause of blown speakers.
Buy this CD, crank the volume and enjoy, I know I did. Sorizon has made a fan out of me, and the fact that this is a debut effort amazes me, I can't wait to see what the future holds with Sorizon. I will also be adding a few songs to the rotation here at Metal Assault Radio, and they will be available on the request system very shortly.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW FROM SEA OF TRANQUILTY (PROG MUSIC SITE)
Sorizon: Behind the Emerald Starscape
From California comes this hot new progressive extreme metal band Sorizon and their debut Behind the Emerald Starscape. It's interesting to note that the style these guys play is something you would normally hear from Scandinavia or Canada. A little bit of Dark Tranquility, Arch Enemy, Into Eternity, Mercenary, Scar Symmetry, Divinity, and In Flames pop into their music from time to time, as well as some power/prog metal influences such as Symphony X. So, though Sorizon might not initially be the most unique band you will ever hear, considering that this is their first album, and self-released at that, the professionalism that surrounds this album makes it a must hear for metal fans. The alternating of clean vocals with growls/screams of Keith McIntosh is quite well done (and this is where the Into Eternity/Divinity comparisons really come into play), as he handles all with utter conviction and power. His soaring pipes on the epic power metal track "Beauty In Darkness" never fails to impress, as does his trading off between clean & shrieks on the raging numbers "Cosmic Eden" and "Lady of the Sea". The rest of the band are equally as talented; check out the blistering harmony leads from Danny Mann & Aj Jorion at the intro to the thrash/prog metal gem "Don't Just Exist", or the two guitar studs laying down some complex lines over the insane rhythms from bassist Keith Hoffman & drummer Sean Elston on the intricate instrumental "Earth War 1". If you like epic sounding progressive metal, you can't go wrong with "Bridges Burned", a song with flurries of nimble drum fills from Elston and plenty of tasty guitar leads. Lots of melody abounds on Behind the Emerald Starscape, and when you mix that up with the right amount of complex interplay as well as brutality, you have a real winner of an album. This is one band that has a very bright future ahead of them, and I can't think of any major metal label that wouldn't like to have Sorizon on their roster.
Added: April 12th 2010
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score: 4 stars
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW FROM HELLION RECORDS:
SORIZON Behind the emerald starscape
This is purely magickal stuff from a rather new american band. These have chosen the path of progressive, yet powerful metal, ranging from more traditional directions towards blistering thrashing fury. The vocals are mostly typical american melodic progpowermetal, somewhere between the likes of Geoff Tate, Rick Mythiasin and Ray Alder, but with a unique twist, something very charismatical. There are darker, more aggressive vocal passages as well, which make the music sound more like a dialogue within a morbid story and put an emphasize on the epic, story telling approach of the album. This band really goes for a top position in the field of progressive powermetal. A band that comes near ADRAMELCH and even has the inspiration to combine the widespread epic melodies of early FATES WARNING with the raging fury of the last four DEATH albums must be something different. Fortunately they don’t go too much into the technical and twisted direction, which often kills the fun with progressive metal. These guys know to write songs that stick to your mind with melodies of unearthly beauty, twin guitar leads and even acoustic guitars that go for a galloping heavy metal style. Amazing stuff and completely fresh!
Sir Lord Doom
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW FROM AUTOTHRALL.BLOGSPOT.COM
Sorizon - Behind the Emerald Starscape (2010)
Considering that the Orange County area of California is a hotbed for awful pop punk and suburban trash rap like the Kottonmouth Kings, a band like Sorizon must be a huge relief for any sane person living there, because they've basically absorbed all the vacuum of sanity and intelligence left behind by so much of that music scene and injected into their own work. That they can write and deliver a 43 minute debut full-length album of such professional traits and well-crafted melodic metal as this must earn them some measure of castigation in such circles, but for the rest of us, Sorizon is an exciting young force within the often ignored spectrum where progressive and traditional metal elements gather for a tete-a-tete.
However, while I would be equally comfortable classifying the band in either the US power or progressive fields, there is actually more to this entity, for they incorporate a host of other influences, the primary of which would be 90s melodic death metal akin to earlier In Flames or Dark Tranquillity. For the most part, they pull it off. The band cites a wide array of influences from Symphony X and Dragonland to Arch Enemy and Norther, but I feel like the band most closely resembles the Italian band Eldritch during their earlier (and good) years. Melodic, loaded with hooks, and a vocalist who makes the most of his down to earth, middle range. Keith McIntosh actually goes beyond this, in fact, because he's also adequate at harmonizing himself, or snarling and growling for the more extreme parts.
Normally this mixture of clean and harsh can prove a jarring proposition, as with a band like Into Eternity, where you get the feeling the band is trying to please everyone and ending up a muddled mess, but at the very least McIntosh does a good job within the distinctive styles. The harsh vocals do feel like somewhat of a distraction on this album, and I don't often find their presence necessary, but he manages them with a restraint that suppressed any gag reflex I might have had. They're not as forced sounding as many of the modern US melodeath/metalcore bands who insist on overbearing them, but they're also not omnipresent on this album. This band knows where its strengths and loyalties lie, and they can be forgiven for a little experimentation.
One thing is certain, he's met his match with this band. Sorizon features a pair of guitar players (Danny Mann and Al Jorion) versed in exactly what makes a song keep the attention, offering a plethora of balanced aggression, melody and lead work that never once sullies itself in needless repetition or hokey self-indulgent shred. The rhythm section of Sean Elston (drums) and Keith Hoffman (bass) is fit for the task, grounding the guitars which are heavy but lack excessive crunch. I do feel the bass could get a bit more adventurous in a few of the sections, but you can really hear him on the cleaner parts and his tone is the right counterbalance for these guitars. The production of Behind the Emerald Starscape is highly professional, the measure of many peers within the genre, with the band having the actual foresight to send it over to Finnvox Studios for mastering.
There are 11 tracks here, two of which are instrumental, and I actually found myself gravitating more towards the later half of the album since there are some stunners there. "Bridges Burned" is a mature piece which opens with a mere plodding bass and clean guitar, then blossoming into an arch of melody accompanied subtly by McIntosh, before he explodes into the verse with a latticework of memorable vocals, like a deeper Ray Alder. "La Fee Verte" is a healthy draught of absinthe given musical voice as a progressive labyrinth of heavy grooves and thirst quenching solos, which also seems to have inspired the album's cover art. "Outreach" is considerably complex for such an accessible track, with excellent vocal harmonies. But there are also some excellent songs early on, like the engrossing "Lady of the Sea", the graceful "Don't Just Exist" (which includes a rare synth line, the band is largely guitar-driven), the quirky instrumental "Kirsnabogg" or the wild western saloon surf that opens the gothic prog metal of "Beauty in Darkness". The only song here I couldn't embrace was the opener "Cosmic Eden". The music is fantastic, as are the clean, harmonized vocals, but it's probably the most excessive as far as the Night in Gales-like melodeath snarls which felt a little overboard and unnecessary.
But really, if a few vocal lines are all I can complain about here, Sorizon is off to an impressive start. Most bands don't have their shit organized after a decade or so, but in two short years these Californians have mustered a great debut that nearly rivals the better work of Kamelot or Symphony X? There's no real chink in the armor here now, so I can only imagine what the band might come up with if given a few more years of gestation. Without being intensely poetic, the lyrics of Sorizon manage to stir up an enthusiasm for both the future and the mysteries of the world's past. They're a band of dreamers, and when you listen closely to the music they create together, the dreams are already well within reach of their galaxy-wide grasp.
Highlights: Bridges Burned, La Fee Verte, Don't Just Exist, Lady of the Sea
Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (I strive to know)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW ON TARTAREAN DESIRE
REVIEW: Sorizon - Behind the Emerald Starscape self-released, 2009 8.5/10 Man oh man, you just know these guys are ready to compete from the get-go. Sorizon might hail from the prog-bereft landscape of Orange County, California, but this unsigned quintet is so committed to the task that they recorded this friggin’ debut with expertise and then shipped it off to be mixed at Finnvox Studios by renowned soundsmith Mika Jussila. What we’ve got on offer is a harnessing of all the good qualities of the progressive metal realm. It’s not as though the references are too arcane – a bit of Pain of Salvation, old Fates Warning, maybe some Eldritch and other Italian bands from the mid-‘90s – but it all hangs together with sensible adornment and consummate good taste. There are a few concessions to death metal vocal “harmonizing,” but not as chips-all-in as the likes of Into Eternity or The Arkitecht. The drums could use a bit more oomph and punch, but that’s just more of my usual nitpicking. All in all, this is awesome stop-start madness, wild solos flailing in all directions, credited to either respective guitarist, but never feeling like a mutually assured ego-stroke. Sensory, Nightmare, Inside Out, et al, your next cause célèbre is right here in front of you. written by Matthew Kirshner
Review: Sorizon "Behind the Emerald Starscape"
4.7/5
Anyone who knows me can tell you, I'm not typically a fan of progressive metal, So my goal when I agreed to review this album was to be objective and unbiased, and about 50 seconds into the lead track "Cosmic Eden" I realized that this wasn't going to be your typical progressive metal CD. Sorizon is indeed a progressive metal band, but they have added countless elements of other genres and styles and found their own sound. "Behind the Emerald Starscape" is the full length debut by Sorizon, and they are at this time unsigned, that being said they spared no expense, and sent the album to Mika Jussila (Children of Bodom, Dragonforce, Nightwish) at Finnvox Studios in Finland for mastering. The mix on this album is nothing, if not stellar. Everything on this album is powerful, and yet nothing gets lost in the mix, or over-powered.
As a band, Sorizon blends all elements of their sound flawlessly, Mann and Jorion (split duty on lead/rythem guitars) compliment each other like not many bands have done, Maiden and Priest come to mind. McIntosh on vocals has a strong voice, and amazing range ( not to mention the backing vocals are always melodic and in key). Hoffman (Bass) and Elston (Drums) keep everything tight and on most songs, very uptempo. Sorizon is full up on talented musicians and composer(s).
No two songs are the same, there's alot of feeling in the music, to the point it sometimes takes on a life of it's own, and you're along for the ride. Due to the fact i don't often get alot of time to listen to albums at my pc, I often take them in the car listen, and take them back out when I've finished, this one is staying in the car, and in the very near future will probably be the cause of blown speakers.
Buy this CD, crank the volume and enjoy, I know I did. Sorizon has made a fan out of me, and the fact that this is a debut effort amazes me, I can't wait to see what the future holds with Sorizon. I will also be adding a few songs to the rotation here at Metal Assault Radio, and they will be available on the request system very shortly.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW FROM SEA OF TRANQUILTY (PROG MUSIC SITE)
Sorizon: Behind the Emerald Starscape
From California comes this hot new progressive extreme metal band Sorizon and their debut Behind the Emerald Starscape. It's interesting to note that the style these guys play is something you would normally hear from Scandinavia or Canada. A little bit of Dark Tranquility, Arch Enemy, Into Eternity, Mercenary, Scar Symmetry, Divinity, and In Flames pop into their music from time to time, as well as some power/prog metal influences such as Symphony X. So, though Sorizon might not initially be the most unique band you will ever hear, considering that this is their first album, and self-released at that, the professionalism that surrounds this album makes it a must hear for metal fans. The alternating of clean vocals with growls/screams of Keith McIntosh is quite well done (and this is where the Into Eternity/Divinity comparisons really come into play), as he handles all with utter conviction and power. His soaring pipes on the epic power metal track "Beauty In Darkness" never fails to impress, as does his trading off between clean & shrieks on the raging numbers "Cosmic Eden" and "Lady of the Sea". The rest of the band are equally as talented; check out the blistering harmony leads from Danny Mann & Aj Jorion at the intro to the thrash/prog metal gem "Don't Just Exist", or the two guitar studs laying down some complex lines over the insane rhythms from bassist Keith Hoffman & drummer Sean Elston on the intricate instrumental "Earth War 1". If you like epic sounding progressive metal, you can't go wrong with "Bridges Burned", a song with flurries of nimble drum fills from Elston and plenty of tasty guitar leads. Lots of melody abounds on Behind the Emerald Starscape, and when you mix that up with the right amount of complex interplay as well as brutality, you have a real winner of an album. This is one band that has a very bright future ahead of them, and I can't think of any major metal label that wouldn't like to have Sorizon on their roster.
Added: April 12th 2010
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score: 4 stars
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW FROM HELLION RECORDS:
SORIZON Behind the emerald starscape
This is purely magickal stuff from a rather new american band. These have chosen the path of progressive, yet powerful metal, ranging from more traditional directions towards blistering thrashing fury. The vocals are mostly typical american melodic progpowermetal, somewhere between the likes of Geoff Tate, Rick Mythiasin and Ray Alder, but with a unique twist, something very charismatical. There are darker, more aggressive vocal passages as well, which make the music sound more like a dialogue within a morbid story and put an emphasize on the epic, story telling approach of the album. This band really goes for a top position in the field of progressive powermetal. A band that comes near ADRAMELCH and even has the inspiration to combine the widespread epic melodies of early FATES WARNING with the raging fury of the last four DEATH albums must be something different. Fortunately they don’t go too much into the technical and twisted direction, which often kills the fun with progressive metal. These guys know to write songs that stick to your mind with melodies of unearthly beauty, twin guitar leads and even acoustic guitars that go for a galloping heavy metal style. Amazing stuff and completely fresh!
Sir Lord Doom
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW FROM AUTOTHRALL.BLOGSPOT.COM
Sorizon - Behind the Emerald Starscape (2010)
Considering that the Orange County area of California is a hotbed for awful pop punk and suburban trash rap like the Kottonmouth Kings, a band like Sorizon must be a huge relief for any sane person living there, because they've basically absorbed all the vacuum of sanity and intelligence left behind by so much of that music scene and injected into their own work. That they can write and deliver a 43 minute debut full-length album of such professional traits and well-crafted melodic metal as this must earn them some measure of castigation in such circles, but for the rest of us, Sorizon is an exciting young force within the often ignored spectrum where progressive and traditional metal elements gather for a tete-a-tete.
However, while I would be equally comfortable classifying the band in either the US power or progressive fields, there is actually more to this entity, for they incorporate a host of other influences, the primary of which would be 90s melodic death metal akin to earlier In Flames or Dark Tranquillity. For the most part, they pull it off. The band cites a wide array of influences from Symphony X and Dragonland to Arch Enemy and Norther, but I feel like the band most closely resembles the Italian band Eldritch during their earlier (and good) years. Melodic, loaded with hooks, and a vocalist who makes the most of his down to earth, middle range. Keith McIntosh actually goes beyond this, in fact, because he's also adequate at harmonizing himself, or snarling and growling for the more extreme parts.
Normally this mixture of clean and harsh can prove a jarring proposition, as with a band like Into Eternity, where you get the feeling the band is trying to please everyone and ending up a muddled mess, but at the very least McIntosh does a good job within the distinctive styles. The harsh vocals do feel like somewhat of a distraction on this album, and I don't often find their presence necessary, but he manages them with a restraint that suppressed any gag reflex I might have had. They're not as forced sounding as many of the modern US melodeath/metalcore bands who insist on overbearing them, but they're also not omnipresent on this album. This band knows where its strengths and loyalties lie, and they can be forgiven for a little experimentation.
One thing is certain, he's met his match with this band. Sorizon features a pair of guitar players (Danny Mann and Al Jorion) versed in exactly what makes a song keep the attention, offering a plethora of balanced aggression, melody and lead work that never once sullies itself in needless repetition or hokey self-indulgent shred. The rhythm section of Sean Elston (drums) and Keith Hoffman (bass) is fit for the task, grounding the guitars which are heavy but lack excessive crunch. I do feel the bass could get a bit more adventurous in a few of the sections, but you can really hear him on the cleaner parts and his tone is the right counterbalance for these guitars. The production of Behind the Emerald Starscape is highly professional, the measure of many peers within the genre, with the band having the actual foresight to send it over to Finnvox Studios for mastering.
There are 11 tracks here, two of which are instrumental, and I actually found myself gravitating more towards the later half of the album since there are some stunners there. "Bridges Burned" is a mature piece which opens with a mere plodding bass and clean guitar, then blossoming into an arch of melody accompanied subtly by McIntosh, before he explodes into the verse with a latticework of memorable vocals, like a deeper Ray Alder. "La Fee Verte" is a healthy draught of absinthe given musical voice as a progressive labyrinth of heavy grooves and thirst quenching solos, which also seems to have inspired the album's cover art. "Outreach" is considerably complex for such an accessible track, with excellent vocal harmonies. But there are also some excellent songs early on, like the engrossing "Lady of the Sea", the graceful "Don't Just Exist" (which includes a rare synth line, the band is largely guitar-driven), the quirky instrumental "Kirsnabogg" or the wild western saloon surf that opens the gothic prog metal of "Beauty in Darkness". The only song here I couldn't embrace was the opener "Cosmic Eden". The music is fantastic, as are the clean, harmonized vocals, but it's probably the most excessive as far as the Night in Gales-like melodeath snarls which felt a little overboard and unnecessary.
But really, if a few vocal lines are all I can complain about here, Sorizon is off to an impressive start. Most bands don't have their shit organized after a decade or so, but in two short years these Californians have mustered a great debut that nearly rivals the better work of Kamelot or Symphony X? There's no real chink in the armor here now, so I can only imagine what the band might come up with if given a few more years of gestation. Without being intensely poetic, the lyrics of Sorizon manage to stir up an enthusiasm for both the future and the mysteries of the world's past. They're a band of dreamers, and when you listen closely to the music they create together, the dreams are already well within reach of their galaxy-wide grasp.
Highlights: Bridges Burned, La Fee Verte, Don't Just Exist, Lady of the Sea
Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (I strive to know)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW ON TARTAREAN DESIRE
REVIEW: Sorizon - Behind the Emerald Starscape self-released, 2009 8.5/10 Man oh man, you just know these guys are ready to compete from the get-go. Sorizon might hail from the prog-bereft landscape of Orange County, California, but this unsigned quintet is so committed to the task that they recorded this friggin’ debut with expertise and then shipped it off to be mixed at Finnvox Studios by renowned soundsmith Mika Jussila. What we’ve got on offer is a harnessing of all the good qualities of the progressive metal realm. It’s not as though the references are too arcane – a bit of Pain of Salvation, old Fates Warning, maybe some Eldritch and other Italian bands from the mid-‘90s – but it all hangs together with sensible adornment and consummate good taste. There are a few concessions to death metal vocal “harmonizing,” but not as chips-all-in as the likes of Into Eternity or The Arkitecht. The drums could use a bit more oomph and punch, but that’s just more of my usual nitpicking. All in all, this is awesome stop-start madness, wild solos flailing in all directions, credited to either respective guitarist, but never feeling like a mutually assured ego-stroke. Sensory, Nightmare, Inside Out, et al, your next cause célèbre is right here in front of you. written by Matthew Kirshner
