• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

September 2023

• Rockett Love: Galactic Circus
• Kerrigan: Bloodmoon
• Taz: Shipwrecked, Vol 2
• Taz: Wake Up & Sweat, Vol 1
• Ronnie Romero: Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters
• The Flower Kings: Look At You Now
• Vega: Battlelines
• Blackbird Angels: Solsorte
• Primal Fear: Code Red
• Eclipse: Megalomanium
• Seventh Wonder: Mercy Falls (Reissue 2008/2023)
• Seventh Wonder: The Great Escape (Reissue 2010/2023)

August 2023

• Hurricane: Reconnected
• U.D.O.: Touchdown
• Streetlight: Ignition
• Sarayasign: The Lion's Road
• Neal Morse: The Dreamer - Joseph - Part One
• Rian: Wings
• Icon Of Sin: Legends
• Lancer: Tempest
• King Kobra: We Are Warriors
• Dark Sky: Signs Of The Time
• Hell In The Club: F.U.B.A.R.
• Kent Hilli: Nothing Left To Lose

July 2023

• Turkish Delight: Volume Two
• Winterstorm: Everfrost
• Scream Maker: Land Of Fire
• James Robledo: Broken Soul
• Houston: Relaunch III
• All For Metal: Legends
• Withering Scorn: Prophets Of Demise
• Bloodbound: Tales From The North
• Kikimora: For A Broken Dime
• Degreed: Public Address

June 2023

• Night Legion: Fight Or Fall
• Midnite City: In At The Deep End
• Pyramaze: Bloodlines
• Shakra: Invincible
• Vypera: Race Of Time
• Stardust: Kingdom Of Illusion
• Pride Of Lions: Dream Higher
• Joel Hoekstra's 13: Crash Of Life
• The Defiants: Drive
• Ray Alder: II
• Art Nation: Inception
• False Memories: Hybrid Ego System

[ More Music Reviews ]

Eternal Essence: A Light in the Distance

Melodic/Progressive Rock

4.0/5.0

Facebook
Unsigned/Self-released
by Craig Hartranft,  10.04.2012

Making the transition from a purely instrumental band to one with lead vocals in the arrangements can be a difficult adventure, even more so if you play progressive rock. New Jersey's Eternal Essence seems to have made the evolution with poise. For their fifth album, A Light in the Distance, Maria Vastano becomes the band's lead vocalist.

Eternal Essence: essentially informal.

Vastano has pleasant melodic vocal style, smooth, sometimes ethereal, and sometimes soaring. A sing song expressing the depth of her skill is the closer Let Me Go. Of most importance, however, is that she compliments the music.

And the music of A Light in the Distance, turns mostly on melodic rock. Actually, when listening to the first several songs you might wonder if EE is still pursuing progressive rock, as the tunes temper towards AOR melodic rock. Then Riven arrives and you get the progressive rock side of the band. Yet even this arrangement isn't that overly technical. More representative of Eternal Essence's playful prog is the longest piece, A Tragic Subconscious, an eloquent and epic song.

Alternatively, there a true rock side to the band, found on Cool Gentle Rain, where Vastano is replaced by Blue Soul's James Hatem on lead vocals. Also, Eternal Essence does not entirely abandon their instrumental side. ... And Servitude invokes an audio atmosphere of ethereal mysteriousness. Next to Riven and A Tragic Subconscious, it's the best song here.

With their exploration into vocal arrangements, provided by a female lead, Eternal Essence's A Light in the Distance charts a new, promising, and entertaining course for this talented band. Easily recommended.

With their exploration into vocal arrangements, provided by a female lead, Eternal Essence's A Light in the Distance charts a new, promising, and entertaining course for this talented band.

Alphabetical Index

Formed in 1999 by singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Erik Martensson, Sweden's Eclipse is well into their third decade of making music. In the recent past, their recordings and reputation have ... [ Read More ]