Band:	Spheric Universe Experience
Album:	Mental Torments
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	2005
A review by:	Jeff

01. So Cold
02. Now Or Never
03. Burning Box Gala
04. Saturated Brain
05. Moonlight
06. Halleygretto
07. Mental Torments
    1 - Solitude
    2 - Reminiscence
    3 - Losing Control
    4 - Inner Peace
08. Sidereal Revolution [USA bonus]
    1 - Solstice
    2 - Equinoxe
09. Echoes Of The Stars

Spheric Universe Experience (we will call them SUE if you don't mind) is a new young combo from France and actually they play progressive metal. A complex and technical Metal that all the fans of the bands like Dream Theater will enjoy, and if you like this music, be sure that you'll like "Mental Torments" their first release which is a good start for this French combo no doubt?

"Mental Torments", the first album of SUE is a nice first shout, the band plays a complex but catchy Progressive Heavy Metal. In two words we are in front of a technical music with lot of guitars and keyboards solos but that's not one another new band which mix Power metal in its music (in the spirit of Symphony X), that's pure prog music, nothing more?
The songs are long, count on an average of 6 mins by track, and evidently you'll find a lot of breaks without any vocals and (you know how Prog Metal can be) but it's ok, that's not boring, at the opposite the songs are catchy the melodies are ok, that's all good.

I have some remarks by the way, the voice of the singer is not bad, not really perfect too but really I regret the French accent, that's frequently the case with French bands and well that's a bit disturbing? Also the band lack of originality sometime, I mean that their style is not really new we already know such music and they are clearly inspired by their older of the category but still, they are young and that's a first release, then we cannot ask too much and anyway when you see the quality of the album? well I have some good feelings for their future.

"Mental Torments" is not bad, that's a great promising start that suffers of an average production (I don't talk about the artwork of Mr M. Noren but about the recording which could be better) but if the band knows how to add some personality to their music, we will have some great albums with them in the future. I'm ready to put some money on them?