Band:	Eumeria
Album:	Rebel Mind
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	June 2011

01. Legion
02. Delusions
03. Rebel Mind
04. Father
05. Tides
06. The Key
07. Red Night Flies
08. Dreaming Of Death
09. Secret Places

This year was a big one for progressive metal with some of the scene's biggest names (Symphony X, Dream Theater, Opeth, Pain Of Salvation, Queensrÿche, Evergrey and even more) releasing albums during the past ten months. Of course, some of them disappointed, and that's where the underground kicks in, providing us with enjoyable releases from Wolverine, Leprous, Mindflow and the like. One of this year's pleasant surprises is Rebel Mind, debut album of a band which features two ex-Outworld members.

Eumeria seems to be a continuance of Outworld: their progressive influences creep in from the back and continue oozing from the sides, but the front of the stage is taken by awesome heavy metal. This is good news for people who aren't keen on time signature changes. But fear not, rabid prog fans, for this release is packed with moments emulating the glory of 90's prog, most notably of Dream Theater and mid-90's Symphony X. Maybe it's not too surprising it reminded me of everything I first liked about prog, but it must be noted that these influences don't come off as blatantly obvious, or, God forbid, rip-off.

Awesome talents in Eumeria make this an enjoyable listen. Kevin (drums) burns a couple of hundred kcal per minute with his intense drumming, Bobby (keyboards) and Reece (guitar) cover it up with wankery-free riffs and duelling solos; underneath it all you will find groovy bass-lines (reminding me of Thomas Miller) while above soar Jonny Tatum's vocals. He has a pretty androgynous, unusual and pure voice (not in a bad way) that is still capable of grit, reminding me of LaBrie in his glory days - in short, the dude sings with a caps-lock on?.

The sound is everything you could ask for of an album produced in 2011, at least to my untrained ears. Writing could be polished a little - the lyrics contain some of the usual stereotyped prog "deepness" and big words (how many times have you heard the word "effigy" in progressive albums?) and it seems to me that, in every possible situation, they picked a musical solution which is less obviously catchy to go for the more unexpected one. Despite the fact that the end result isn't too technical or obscure, I still can't think of it as successfully done, as it leaves us without a true anthem of the album.