Band:	Kingcrow
Album:	Eidos
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	June 23, 2015
A review by:	Dream Taster

01. The Moth
02. Adrift
03. Slow Down
04. Open Sky
05. Fading Out (Part IV)
06. The Deeper Divide
07. On The Barren Ground
08. At The Same Place
09. Eidos
10. If Only

Will you look at that album cover? Now that this got your attention, you can still be blown away by their music. Indeed, let's get right to it, the Italian prog musicians of Kingcrow are back with Eidos, and it is a gem of an album. In case you never heard of them, their influences include bands like Leprous, Pain Of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Threshold, Rush and Dream Theater. Those are not bad references to have. Kingcrow started to gather praise in 2010 with the addition of singer Diego Marchesi and the release of the excellent Phlegeton. 2013 cemented their career with the highly-acclaimed In Crescendo. 2015 brings us what is their most adventurous effort, and what could become their magnum opus.

The lineup remains unchanged with Diego Cafolla and Ivan Nastasi on guitars and backing vocals, Francesco D'Errico on bass guitar, Manuel Thundra Cafolla behind the kit, Cristian Della Polla on keys and the aforementioned Diego Marchesi providing his emotional lead vocals. His vocal work is once more a highlight throughout.

It is clear that Diego Cafolla has written some innovative quality tracks for this album, taking the band in uncharted territories. But the risk has paid off big time. The song structures are complex, intense, and very diverse. So much so, it takes a long time to fully appreciate all the goodies that the album has to offer. A lot of the previously named influences can be heard on Eidos but they all hit the spot and sound coherent, not at all out of place. The band retains its identity. Equally important, Eidos never turns into a musicianship show-off. There is no solo contest, only well-adjusted elements and perfect timing from everybody involved. Fans of progressive music will enjoy the very clean sound. Rhythmic elements such as bass lines and percussions are on equal level with the guitars.

It takes something special nowadays to get me interested in new progressive metal bands. And something special is exactly what the musicians of Kingcrow have created with Eidos. This album sets the bar high and does not disappoint. As far as I am concerned this should be a serious contender for prog record of the year.