Band:	Hemina
Album:	Romancing The Ether
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	August 2023

01. Romancing The Ether
    1 - Intention
    2 - Strike Four
    3 - Embraced By Clouds
    4 - Dissolution
    5 - Revelations
    6 - Integration
02. Strike Four [single version] [bonus]
03. Embraced By Clouds [single version] [bonus]
04. Revelations [single version] [bonus]

Romancing The Ether is a new album from an Australian melodic progressive metal band opening with a long multi-movement title track that represents the continuation of an existing conceptual story... and no, this is not the customary annual Teramaze release.

Progressive metal is in quite a healthy place in Australia right now, at least from what I can tell by the albums that reach their way through the Earth’s core; on top of Voyager’s Eurovision breakout, you have quality active bands such as Lucid Planet, Ne Obliviscaris, Caligula's Horse, Karnivool (well, they’re touring at least), and also Teramaze and Hemina. If you’ve not read the now-five reviews of Teramaze releases I’ve written, you might not recognize the parallel I was trying to draw between their 2021 release Sorella Minore and the new album by Hemina. The latter is a band I discovered through Metal Storm courtesy of Introspekrieg’s review of Nebulae, but also one that I’ve not really been following since subsequent album Venus; however, I have a soft spot for prog bands attempting epic songs, so Romancing The Ether seems like as good a chance as any to check in with how they’re doing.

The parallels aren’t entirely consistent; Sorella Minore had 3 more songs rounding it out, while Romancing The Ether is comprised of a single song divided into movements (although the Bandcamp version does have 3 of these movements listed as single versions after “Romancing The Ether” to turn it into a 4-track release). Still, the comparison is easily made, and considering that the title track “Sorella Minore” has had me completely infatuated with it since its release, it’s a daunting benchmark for Romancing The Ether to be set against; Hemina rise fairly well to this challenge.

I think it’s first fair to acknowledge that this isn’t a ‘true’ single epic song in the way “Sorella Minore” or something like Edge Of Sanity’s Crimson is; the ends and beginnings of sequential songs do run into one another, but beyond the fact that it’s separated into 6 movements, I’ve listened through it several times, and if there are overarching recurring motifs or refrains, I’ve not been picking up on them. Viewing Romancing The Ether as a six-song concept album, it’s closer to Hemina’s previous endeavours, which have also contained multiple songs around the 10-minute mark, like longest songs “Strike Four” and “Embraced By Clouds” here. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that a group as accomplished as Hemina are able to fill a 35-minute record with solid songs; nevertheless, the diversity across the album in terms of style, as well as their ambition in incorporating live strings and 100-part vocal choir arrangements, is easy to appreciate.

In terms of style, for those unfamiliar with Hemina but acquainted with other Australian prog bands, Teramaze’s proggier stuff is a useful reference point, but I’m slightly more inclined to point towards Caligula's Horse, at least due to subtle similarity in vocal style and use of djent(-lite) riffing (this album is also the band’s first to feature 8-stringed guitars). Beyond that, there’s an occasional poppy sensibility to some of the music that might appeal to Voyager fans. Looking outside of Down Under, the melodic prog is unsurprisingly in a manner that early Dream Theater fans should like, and I also pick up hints of Faith No More and Mike Patton in brief moments of “Embraced By Clouds”.

Looking at the strengths of Romancing The Ether, the aforementioned diversity is one perk. The album’s promo blurb on Bandcamp mentions influences from neo-soul, ambient, psytrance and world music; I don’t think they’re as successfully integrated into the existing prog-metal framework as Lucid Planet manage to do with psytrance and world music on Lucid Planet II, but “Dissolutions” is a fun song that incorporates most of these, from a Arabian-influenced introduction through a new age/psytrance midsection and into a heavier climax. The neo-soulisms can occasionally be detected in the vocals on other tracks, and the singing in general is a highlight of Romancing The Ether, with credited contributions from all four members. I find the uplifting melodic vocal passages in “Revelations” to be very charming; it’s always a nice contrast to hear really heavy guitar sounds combined with really positive-sounding vocals.

The obvious standout song though, to me at least, is “Embraced By Clouds”, which has a really nice blend of portentous heavy mid-tempo prog, fun elaborate keyboard arrangements, quality guitar soloing, and a stirringly evocative concluding couple of minutes with passionate vocals. This quality does shine a slight light on the aspects of the album that I enjoy a bit less though. The thing that makes “Sorella Minore” so brilliant is how vital every moment feels; in contrast, I can look at “Romancing The Ether” as a single song and find parts that feel less necessary. To start with, the piano ballad intro passage to “Strike Four” is a bit overwrought and overstaying its welcome by the time the rest of the band starts to join in. Additionally, when the track turns heavier, I can dig the syncopated djent riffing and how it clashes with the melodic ambient synth work in the verses, but I’m less keen on the vocal melodies in the chorus and surrounding passages.

Still, while “Strike Four” is an at-times inauspicious beginning to the album, it gathers momentum with the remaining movements, and after the bright-sounding climax of “Revelations” is gone, I’m overall left with a positive impression. It doesn’t reach the peaks or have the consistent allure of “Sorella Minore”, but perhaps I’m being overly harsh basing this much of my standards for Romancing The Ether on superficial similarities between the releases. I reckon Romancing The Ether won’t have me coming back to it with any regulairty, but it does leave me feeling generally warm and cheerful during the times in which I am listening to it.