Band:	The Fallen Divine
Album:	The Binding Cycle
Style:	Extreme progressive metal
Release date:	November 2011

01. Dissension
02. Shades Of Oppression
03. Fire Lights The Night (Self Ignition)
04. Patterns Through Eternity
05. Northern Lights
06. Replenished
07. The Tormented One
08. The Binding Cycle

2011 should be marked down as the year of the debuts. Holy hell has there been a landslide of excellent fresh ones put out this year; TOAD, Death Valley Driver, Enthring, Smohalla, Sacred Ally, and Spellbound Dazzle are some great examples. Oh, that list is exclusively stuff I've personally reviewed, there's been dozens upon dozens that have shown their face around Metal Storm over the past year, reviewed and highlighted by other staff & elites.

Well, looks like The Fallen Divine have strutted into the party just in time (nonchalantly elbowing a few of the previously mentioned bands out of the way on their way in.) What makes The Binding Cycle possibly one of the best debut albums of the year is how flexible and versatile it is, while being an incredibly smooth ride. They managed to write & record in this nifty crossroad where melodeath, prog, and black metal meet. So what are we talking about here? Black metal with prog influences? Melodeath with black metal influences? Neither, it's just a well balanced amalgamation. There's a few transitional finger-breaking prog moments tying a riff-based melodeath band to a soaring, epic black metal band. It's like a giant bald eagle with beefy arms clutching an M-60, who goes home and listens to Enslaved after a wholesome day of majestically destroying everything.

There's a few aspects that escape notice amongst all the other crazy shit happening that are worth mentioning; a few tastefully added keyboard bits throughout (although seldom very prevalent), and a couple of those "hold on bro, need to catch your breath? Here's a spacey mellow moment to chill out to" moments. Admittedly, they really don't execute the brief, mellow passages as seamlessly as their aggressive ones, coming off as a bit incongruous. Luckily, there's rarely a moment to focus on the set backs as things seem to constantly morph into a different sound.

Best of all, The Fallen Divine take no shortcuts to make their music as memorable as it is (in other words, they don't throw in embarrassing, gimmicky bullshit.) The Binding Cycle is a meticulously well put together album by a band that really knows what they're doing.

http://www.facebook.com/fallendivine