Band:	Grayceon
Album:	Grayceon
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	2007

01. Sounds Like Thunder
02. Song For Your
03. Into The Deep
04. Ride

You know, once in a while you discover something that totally catches you off-guard, something you usually don't expect in a bland world, which is what we live in; and you totally get excited about it not giving a damn about anything that goes by you. That's what just happened to me with Grayceon's debut album, discovering it 6 years after its release. In fact, this band, while one of the most original - I daresay, act - nowadays, are still so unpopular, it gives me heartache. Having a pretty unusual line-up consisting of a raw-power drummer, who totally makes the whole thing kind of inward, spiritual even, a girl who is really talented on cello and trying to expand the vibe (of course, we heard cello on metal music before, even progressive, but believe me, you never heard it in place of the bass and lead at the same time), and a guy who is just wanking on his guitar with his fingers (wow that sounds a bit ambiguous, isn't it); this band creates absolute fun for true soulful music lovers.

Let me start with a bit of musical introduction as you probably have no idea what this is about:
Grayceon, by combining the unique idea of substituting bass guitar and heavily distorted leads with creative/highly varied violin parts with sometimes jazz-like guitar playing and harsh drumming, with the addition of mish-mash vocals (either love it or hate it, I go with the first bunch), is spectacular. We got only got 4 songs (imagine the lengths), the album is pretty consistent in quality, yet they have everything from the mellow to the brutal (in terms of the above description), and while it's sort of gloomy it didn't put me in the mood to kill anyone or feel sad about anything. To me personally that's a huge thing; that's the reason I can't get hooked into doom metal and similar stuff for a long term.

I'm not saying it's perfect, that would be far from the truth, but this the closest I think we can get to real music that can delve deep even into the unaware listener; and it doesn't need any hype or super-duper solo guitarist with a drummer who can make his cymbals scream at 300 BPM. The vocals can be a watershed for people, be aware of that; but you can make a huge discovery.

And I still can't stop listening to Ride. I wish they'd made it longer...