Band:	Viathyn
Album:	Cynosure
Style:	Progressive power metal
Release date:	October 2014

01. Ageless Stranger
02. The Coachman
03. Edward Mordrake
04. Shadows In Our Wake
05. Countess Of Discordia
06. Time Will Take Us All
07. Three Sheets To The Wind
08. Albedo
09. Cynosure

In the album reviewin' game, it's pretty common to review a solid band on their debut, only to see them disappear into the night. I guess that's reflective of the music business in general; maintaining a working band is difficult. It's like a five-way marriage...except with musicians, so your spouses are twice as moody and thrice as entitled. But I digress, the point I'm getting at is it's nice to see a band hold it together and return after four years making solid steps forward with their follow-up. Welcome back, Viathyn.

It's a bittersweet return for Viathyn. The four year album-silence hasn't done anything to erode the quality of the quasi-grandiose, quasi-stripped-down power metal these guys play. On the other hand, four years hasn't done a whole lot to move their sound forward in any remarkable way. If you were on board for The Peregrine Way, you're essentially in for the same ride with Cynosure.

That being said, the sound as a whole is a lot tighter this time around. The vocals - which were arguably the weakest part of the debut - are more ambitious this time around. Yeah, sure Crnkovic may not hit the same extreme peaks and values of many power metal singers out there, but there's a certain unpolished quality which gives it a distinct flavor, rather than sounding like every other wailing douchebag saturating the power metal market.

Songwriting wise, there's not much to be said; it's the same Euro-style prog-power metal we saw with their debut, just better this time around. It's more focused, more varied and less derivative. Viathyn, particularly with Cynosure, is all about supremely aggressive rhythm tracks driving those catchy, soaring leads. With the guitar skill on display here, that's really all they need, which leads me to the biggest issue this band has; production. The Peregrine Way was bogged with a really busy, cluttered sound which has barely been fixed here. In fact, it's just become more apparent where the problem lies; the synths. The guitars are so full and thorough, they really could have done away with the keyboards entirely. At the best of times, they add just a little extra depth. At the worst of times (which is frequent enough to be a noticeable drawback) it sounds like they just recorded all their gear being thrown down a flight of stairs.

All production issues aside, Viathyn's Cynosure certainly is a fun, unpretentious power-prog romp.