Band:	Helion
Album:	Fool's Paradise
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	May 17, 2004
A review by:	Undercraft

01. Introduction
02. Technology
03. God Of Fire
04. Forsaken Religion
05. King Of Fools
06. Stay Human
    1 - The Journey
    2 - March For Humanity
    3 - Elysium
07. Meditation
08. The Point Of No Return
09. Frail Vision
10. The Sun Is Burning Down

Another Self-released album with excellent quality and top-notch graphic design, damn! This is turning to be a regular thing on independent bands, and to be honest I'm loving this initiative to release quality stuff without the support of a record label.

Helion comes from one of the Metal-spawning countries in the world, yes, Finland, for a country with approximately 6 million habitants there's a lot of Metal bands out there and Helion is one of them. Playing Progressive Metal, Helion deliver us their debut effort, filled to the brim with exquisite musicianship, catchy melodies and lots of creativity in songwriting.

The Cd looks awesome when you first hold it into your hands, the artwork is simple yet skillfully done, the inside booklet and even the Cd pressing is amazing, definitively these guys took time to find a proper artwork for their cover art. Production is tight and crisp, each instrument sounds in place, so summing up, production + overall presentation: amazing!

The band plays Progressive Metal, which means of course, excellent musicianship. The band handles each instrument quite well; the Cd is filled with catchy riffs, great guitar leads, amazing vocals and imaginative drumming. Songs like "God Of Fire" and "Forsaken Religion" are prime examples of this. Some other songs stand out as well; "Frail Vision" starts as a ballad, and then becomes this excellent piece packed up with catchy moments and great chorus. My personal favorite of the album "World Of Fools" has an epic, slow intro, but after a little while the song explodes into a ultra melodic yet aggressive piece, truly a remarkable song.

Helion is a band with the talent necessary to be on the big leagues among other big names in the Progressive scene, is a shame that no label has picked up this yet, but I don't really worry that much, I know that acts like this won't go unnoticed and I'm sure that the next release of Helion will be under the support of a record label. Fans of Progressive stuff, don't miss this album.