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After Lapse: Face The Storm
After Lapse - Face The Storm Album Art

After Lapse: Face The Storm

Melodic Progressive Metal
4.5/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 05.12.2022 | Released: 09.12.2022

Spanish band After Lapse emerged in 2018 from drummer Roberto Cappa, keyboardist Pablo Sancha, and guitarist Arturo Rodriguez, former members of Delyrium. From this time, the band would write and develop original songs and have personnel changes. Rodriguez would eventually leave, replaced by guitarist Jorge Escudero. Now, After Lapse delivers their debut long-player, After The Storm, for Frontiers Music. The album features guest guitar solos from Vhaldemar's Pedro Monge and Persefone's Carlos Lozano.

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After Lapse

Essentially, After Lapse is creating melodic progressive metal with some shades of power metal. They mention bands like Dream Theater, Kamelot, and Angra as influences, but also more modern currents like Devin Townsend and Haken. Fortunately, the band avoids the major conundrum of modern prog metal, allowing verbose technicality to trump listener accessibility to the song. All their compositions excel in the latter. This is most notable in several things: song melody and harmony, also suggested in vocal arrangements, a turn in the refrain, and pleasing guitar and keyboard solos.



The latter takes us to some songs of interest. Piano and synth lines are quite evident and enjoyable within The Lie, Thrive, Where No One Cares, and especially Along The Way. That last song features cello by Alicia Avilés Valero (Torrevieja Symphony Orchestra (Alicante)). Other songs of interest include Beyond The End which enjoys some spry acoustic guitar work at the start, before leading into a rising anthem. Face The Storm does something similar at the beginning but with duet between guitar and keys. For some songs that turn more on a modern prog motif, check out Through This War or More with their polyrhythms, vocal experimentation (harsher voice in More), and sometimes harsher riffs (common in much contemporary prog). The arrangements eventually simmer down through the rise of the song melody and vocal harmony in segues.

All in all, newcomers After Lapse and their debut Face The Storm are a fine contribution to melodic progressive metal, with their visceral technicality made accessible through sound song melody and harmony. Easily recommended for you prog lovers out there.



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The Take Away

Newcomers After Lapse and their debut Face The Storm are a fine contribution to melodic progressive metal, with their visceral technicality made accessible through sound song melody and harmony. Easily recommended for you prog lovers out there.

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