Right then, I’ll get the main negative comments out of the way first and, as they are not directly connected to the musical content of this album, it's at this point I’m going to sound like a bloody teacher. The band's press kit is about as revealing as 2w bulb in a mine shaft. The members have decided to go only by their initials and their is no clear idea given as to who sings lead vocals on which tracks. And actually that's fairly important as the leads vocals give rise to the only production criticism here in that they seem buried in the mix and, as the music the band plays is both complicated and appealing at the same time, the vocals really do need to stand head and shoulders above the other instruments. But this problem is easily overcome by a simple remix. grunt vocals)

The second major criticism is with the presentation of the “album” itself. The album was sent as a download, all well and good as for an unsigned band it saves both time and money and makes it easier to get your music out there. But you do have to be careful with the tagging of MP3 files. In this instance they were identified in such way as when played on an MP3 player the running order was completely different to that which was shown on the press release, confusing - not half.

These niggling points aside Aetherius have produced an excellent prog inspired album here, in fact to be more precise it’s very Dream Theater inspired, but most importantly the band have managed to remember the melody and not just the musical masturbation that goes along with the prog tag. Highlights include the mini epic Rainbands , the excellent In the Here and the Now,with its clever use of acoustic guitars, and the frantic high speed riffola of Hold Onto Your Dreams with its many time and mood changes.

In short this is a really decent progressive metal album that is only let down by its presentation and the vocal mix but, with a little work that can easily be remedied and then it's job done then.

Contact: www.myspace.com/aetherius

Track Listing

Zero A.E.
Minding the Hourglass
6
The New Way of Thinking
Hold onto Your Dreams
Evolve or Dissolve
In the Here and the Now
Rainbands

 Line Up

RMB - Vocals/Guitar
STB - Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards
DJG - Vocals/Bass
GSM - Vocals/Drums