Band:	Horizon's End
Album:	The Great Destroyer
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	May 2023

01. Damage
02. Last To Succumb
03. The Trail Of Notes
04. Another War
05. Catalyst Of Fear
06. They Will Rise Again
07. Nightmares
08. The Parade
09. Voices From The Sea
10. Postcards From War

Horizon's End have possibly produced their grand achievement, three decades into their existence. And it’s not that their previous output hasn’t been some first-rate progressive metal music.

I discovered Horizon's End through this interview, in which Haris from Hail Spirit Noir claims that The Great Destroyer is one of the best albums he has ever listened to. I thought that this was a bold statement, and I cannot really say myself that I share his feelings entirely, but I sure am pretty damn impressed by this album.

Lyrically, The Great Destroyer is a memoir of war through the eyes of children. Musically, it is a captivating symphonic and technical progressive metal album, drawing influences from Dream Theater, Shadow Gallery, and Threshold to Queen, classical music, Manos Hadjidakis, and Broadway musicals. It is 73 minutes of emotive music and lyrics, crafted by keyboardist Sakis Bandis (Hail Spirit Noir). A vast array of sentiments is being expressed through driving riffs and, especially, through exceptional melodies; guitar melodies, vocal melodies, and, of course, keyboard melodies.

The Great Destroyer is full of fascinating progressive music that is engaging as a whole, while also having these special moments that strengthen an album’s memorability and replay value. The chorus of “Last To Succumb” is unforgettable. “The Trail Of Notes” is surrounded by magic dust and a theatrical aura. The instrumental parts of “Another World” and “The Parade”, in particular, are the product of great inspiration. “Postcards From War” in its entirety is a genuine masterpiece, a song of the year contender, and the closer that this album deserves. Honestly, the only thing that felt out of place to my ears were the harsh vocals by Theoharis Lirantzakis (Hail Spirit Noir) on “Voices From The Sea”.

I am so glad I found Horizon's End. The Great Destroyer urged me to check out the band’s back catalogue, and I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer quality of it as well as by how distinct each album is in its sound, while falling under the large umbrella of progressive metal. I used to think that Need had no competition in the Greek progressive metal scene, but apparently I was wrong.

"Follow the sounds
Of guns and the crowds
Across fields of death
We'll take our final breath"