Band:	Persefone
Album:	Core
Style:	Melodic death metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	September 24, 2006
A review by:	Jeff

01. Sanctuary: Light And Grief
    1 - Act I: Goddess' Wrath
    2 - Act II: Light's Memories
    3 - Act III: Exiled To The Void
    4 - Act IV: To Face The Truth
02. Underworld: The Fallen & The Butterfly
    1 - Act I: Clash Of The Titans
    2 - Act II: Dark Thoughts From A Dark Heart
    3 - Act III: When The Earth Breaks
    4 - Act IV: Released
03. Seed: Core & Persephone
    1 - Act I: A Ray Of Hope
    2 - Act II: Self Betraying
    3 - Act III: Doubts Are Seed
    4 - Act IV: Dark Inner Transition
    5 - Act V: The End
04. Train Of Consequences [Megadeth cover] [Japanese bonus]
05. Star Wars Medley [John Williamson cover] [reissue bonus]

Persefone comes from Andorra (the little country in the mountains between Spain and France) and this is probably not the first time that you hear something about this band on Metal Storm. Maybe that some of you remember my (old) review about their first release "Truth Inside The Shades" which was, back in 2004, was one of my best discovering and surprises of the year. Finally, the band has the chance to release their second album in 2006 and I will let you know why it was a mistake that nobody here (including me) have tried to talk about this band before today. "Core" is a masterpiece of extreme Progressive Metal, don't miss it if you want to discover that extreme Metal and Progressive music can perfectly be associated.

"Core" has nothing to do with the word that we use to name some kind of music, you know Metalcore, Hardcore etc? Actually here, we're in front of a Greek word which means daughter and since that this new concept album is about the Greek legend of Persephone, I suppose now that you understand why the band has used this title. Now that this important explanation is done, let's talk a bit about the last album of Persefone. Their first release was an excellent piece of Melodic Death Metal with strong progressive parts. It was a great release but let me tell you that "Core" in comparison is a lot more complex and progressive, that's just impressive. The album is divided in three big parts (which are all divided in sub-tracks), the main lyric theme, of course is about Persephone and the album, through is music, perfectly describe the legend of this beautiful girl which finally became the queen of deaths. The music of Persefone is really smart and intelligent, I don't really want to compare the band to other combos but it's hard to avoid the name of Symphony X. Though, the Andorran band is an extreme Metal act and this is not the voice of the female singer Marta Masafret which kill the violence that we were able to find in the first release of the combo, "Truth Inside The Shades". Maybe that "Core" is a bit softer but if we lose a bit of violence in the riffs, we win a ton of excellent progressive parts and that's a good thing in my opinion. "Core", obviously is a pure album of Progressive Metal with excellent guitars and keyboards soli. The riffs are strong like iron but they're always smart and useful. If you like Progressive extreme Metal (we're not in front of Necrophagist), with good Death vocals (and nice clean too by the way) in addition of killer riffs and superb progressive passages, this album is a must!

The album was recorded in Andorra but mastered in Sweden by Peter In De Betou. The work is perfect and the sound is just great. If you add that the artwork was done by Annika Von Holdt and that of course the performance of the musicians is perfect, it's really hard to find anything wrong here. Maybe, but that's a small maybe, that some people will not enter easily in the music of Persefone which is really complex but it's just a matter of time in my opinion and if they try to listen to the album, it should be ok with a bit of time. I know that the album is full of break, it's pure Prog but a "song" like "Seed: Core & Persephone" is catchy as hell so I'm sure that 99% of the metalheads should be attracted by the release. This is just perfect!

It's maybe weird to read that Persefone comes from a tiny little country like Andorra but there, Metal is popular and it's great to see that a band like Persefone is becoming famous and that some young bands now are following their steps. I really hope that Persefone will get the success that they deserve soon but I'm sure that their upcoming album will definitely open the doors of the heaven of Metal bands. Before that day, please have a look on "Core" (and don't forget their first release too), we're just in front of a great album of Metal.