Band:	Artension
Album:	Sacred Pathways
Style:	Neoclassical progressive metal
Release date:	2001
Guest review by:	andreosokin

01. Voyage To Nasca
02. Your Victory
03. Running Out Of Time
04. Sacred Pathways
05. Silent Temple
06. The Emperor
07. Nightmare
08. The Killing
09. The Calm Before The Storm
10. March To Ruin
11. Flower Of The Orient
12. Nightmare [radio edit]
13. Keeps Me Alive [Japanese bonus]

Sacred Pathways was the first record I've ever heard by this band, and still remains the best for me. Featuring the strongest line-up with Kuprij, West and Staffelbach leading the way as always, it also marks the return of the drum legend Mike Terrana and his long-time friend and collaborator, bassist Kevin Chown. Each of the five demonstrates the best of their skills to deliver some outstanding neoclassical music with the extremely powerful voice of John West (also from Ten Man Push and now formerly, Royal Hunt)!

The most important thing that matters on my final rating is the songwriting, which on this record is the best among all the albums Artension has ever released: here you have fast songs, like "Your Victory" or "The Emperor", powerful mid-tempos like "Running Out Of Time" or "The Killing", incredibly beautiful ballads, "The Calm Before The Storm" and "Flower Of The Orient" and some progressive stuff like the mind-blowing instrumental, "March To Ruin", or the song called "Nightmare". So, bravo, Mr. Kuprij & Mr. West for your hard and passionate work on the songs!

As it has been said already, every musician demonstrates amazing technical skills, but personally I feel like the only musician who seemed not to be keeping up with his bandmates on this album is Roger Staffelbach. Probably because the guitar sound isn't as clear as the other instruments, which blurs the listener's impression on the Roger, who actually seems to be a talented guy, but at least that's how it sounds on Sacred Pathways.

If you're thinking on buying this album, consider the physical edition (actually, the original and most popular edition to date) it features some great artwork by Eric Philippe, an artist whose work has been really prominent in late 90's to early 2000's. And not to mention the decent sound work on the album: it's full of contrasts, some of which were even pushed a bit over the top, but that won't really affect your listening experience.

Honestly, it's hard to find any similar bands, because Artension really has its own sound, its own style. But I would definitely recommended Sacred Pathways to those who enjoy the work of Symphony X, Yngwie Malmsteen and all those neoclassical bands.