Evil Masquerade Welcome To The Show

ProGGnosis review Reviewed by: MJ Brady Visit ProGGnosis: HERE

Yet another band trying to crack the elite and short list of effective neo-classical progressive metal band active today. Evil Masquerade has all the necessary ingredients to make a solid impression on the fans of this ever attracting subgenre of music. They are comprised of musicians that have been very active in the metal/prog circles in Europe, and all collectively a group of top notch musicians.

To be a credible band in the neo-classical market, it seems that a band needs to have certain characteristics to garner any positive attention amoungst it's legion of fans that have heard the best the genre has to offer. So unless you have shortcomings on this short list of essentials, chances are you will be a one and out kind of band.

1. Musicianship - A must for this genre, and you better have every instrument covered here, no slackers at any position, the more dynamic and diverse the musicians tastes are, the better the result, so even though the music dwells in neo-classical mode, having a taste for fusion, flamenco, hard rock, or others is always a nice addition. from 1-10, Evil Masquerade gets a 9.

2. Composition - Again, just having great instrumental prowess seldom is enough to gets the fans of this genre aroused, just ask all the poor guitarists playing Shrapnel styled shred these days. Having a flare for effective songwriting and clever music production is a pair that gets the senses buzzing. This is one of the more important aspects of this kind of music, and for EM? Out of the 1-10 scale, they get an 8. (Keep in mind it's their first cd)

3. Singing/Vocals - This is something that usually makes or breaks a band in the progressive metal world, or many other genres for that matter, the singer portrays the personality of the band, and if they are lacking in some certain way, despite the clever musicianship and arrangements, the band will be at a loss if the vocalists is hurting them in some way. With that being said, EM does quite well, rating from 1-10, I'd say Henrik Brockmann rates about a 8 or 9.

In regards to those criteria, I think this is a band that will continue to impress listeners of bands such as Symphony X, Adagio, or Time Requiem. They have all the bases covered, and utilize some of the better keyboardists in progmetal today in - Mats Olausson (Malmsteen), Richard Andersson(Time Requiem/Majestic), & Andre Andersen(Royal Hunt).