Band:	Enochian Theory
Album:	Life... And All It Entails
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	March 2012

01. Zero Is Also A Number
02. This Aching Isolation
03. Hz
04. Non Sum Qualis Eram
05. Distances
06. Inversions
07. Creatio Ex Nihilio
08. In Times Of Silence
09. For Your Glory, Great Deceiver
10. Nisi Credideritis, Non Intelligetis
11. The Motives Of The Machine
12. Singularities
13. Loves
14. The Fire Around The Lotus [bonus]

Rating supplement: Guess who's got herself a new band crush? It's been a while since I attached a 9.0 score to a review, so consider this a wholehearted recommendation.

Quick, what's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say "emotional, stripped down, dismal proggy music"? You're probably thinking Riverside, Porcupine Tree, maybe even Damnation-era Opeth or early 2000's Pain Of Salvation (or, if you're one of the three people on Metal Storm that share my obsessions, Wolverine and Sieges Even/Subsignal). Well, it looks like a new band joined this pack - I already adore them and you should too.

Out of all the names I've dropped in the first paragraph, Riverside is the band which sounds the closest to Enochian Theory - it's not a coincidence that jupitreas described Enochian Theory's debut as an emotional twin to Riverside's Out Of Myself. But don't think this means Enochian Theory is a clone. They're simply sailing along "The Same River" - walking down a similar path.

All of the tracks are very short for prog standards and for the most part devoid of soloing. Two minutes into the opener you already know what you're up for - fragile-sounding guitar work, playful rhythms and epic, bigger-than-life vocal melodies, all performed by very able musicians. There is also an abundance of synths and orchestral sounds performed by a mysterious entity the band refers to as "The Lost Orchestra". The pace doesn't pick up much throughout the album, but the intensity sure does, so if you can't stand mellow music, seldom but smartly placed guitar riffs with heavy distortion and growled vocals will make you feel right at home.

What is even more impressive than Enochian Theory's song construction is their album construction. Life... And All It Entails has got the best flow I've heard recently, down to every second of the spoken word tracks. Everything fits just like a puzzle - the way "Distances" sets the mood for "Inversions", or the way that growled vocals surface for the first time during "In Times Of Silence" and dominate the whole first half of the following track is priceless.

"Non sum qualis eram... I am not who I once was."