Band:	Sepia Dreamer
Album:	The Sublime
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	February 26, 2007
A review by:	Baz Anderson

01. Gateway
02. The Exposition
03. Development
04. Capitulation

Formed and manned by a Swedish man and a Welsh man, Sepia Dreamer unleash upon the world their musical version of what could be interpreted as the tranquil, but often dangerous natural world - all in forty-four minutes of elegant progressive metal. Recorded in both the members home studios in Stockholm and Cardiff, this is neither unprofessional nor uninspired, but something that has quite clearly had large portions of its creators time.

Four tracks complete "The Sublime", the second and third track covering significantly the most time. The first track covering just over two minutes acts as an introduction track, or a "Gateway" as it is entitled, to the grandiose, symphonic and epic contents of the album. This introduction track builds up quite some ambience itself but unfortunately is cut off when you are just getting into the mood instead of leading or blending into the next track and main meat of the album as they kick in.

"The Exposition" soon picks the ambience back up though, everything moving at an epic pace, guest drummer Leon Macey's cymbals clashing and leading into seemingly controlled progressive spasms, that in turn lead into new parts and more new parts yet it all seems to keep the same tone. Transition between the two tracks is a little peculiar, as after quarter of an hour of constant music you seem to have forgotten what nothing sounds like. "Development" starts off sounding more like some kind of ominous presence with lower down, deeper sounds creeping their way to your ears. A guitar solo that catches you off guard and piano piece later, and we are once again taken into a world where music categories and genres don't seem to exist, where the music paints a picture in our mind's eye for us. A short section with double bass drumming leaking out at us, and the scene builds and builds to an enormous, grand, epic crescendo - the highest point of the album.

The album is made very well, the music is written with good intelligence. This instrumental album never sounds like it lacks a singer, there is so much music, so many changes going on to keep you interested, there is no abyss yearning for a singer. This album cannot be listened to and appreciated to its full potential by just a casual listen. A large portion of your attention needs to be on the album, else it will very easily run the risk of blurring into one long song with no memorable parts at all, even if your attention is on the album it may take a few times round for you to fully appreciate what is going on here.

"Capitulation" has a beautiful melody in places and seems to be a bit of a goodbye - the theatre is closing. It leaves the impression of an album with some magnificence about it, and that has certainly been a long time in the works. This is most definitely an inspired album with some ambition and hopefully will be appreciated by many fans of epic, grand, progressive music. One of the most adventurous albums I have heard in a long time.