Band:	To-Mera
Album:	Delusions
Style:	Symphonic progressive metal
Release date:	February 18, 2008
A review by:	Ivor

01. The Lie
02. Mirage
03. The Glory Of A New Day
04. Inside The Hourglass
05. A Sorrow To Kill
06. Asylum
07. Fallen From Grace
08. Temptation

I've been glad to follow To-Mera's evolution quite from the beginning and "Delusions" is a second treat that they release upon the world of expectant listeners. To-Mera gained popularity with their début - an album that was stirring the scene even before it was released. This new piece is no less anticipated. Read on, if you want to know more.

What To-Mera delivers is not something easily digested. If you don't know what challenge is, here's a thought - To-Mera is challenge. If you don't know what complexity is, here's another thought - To-Mera is complexity. Listening to To-Mera is a constant mind exercise. It's "like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick" (R.I.P. Douglas Adams). To-Mera is a blast when you reach Mach speed. In short, To-Mera is awesome.

Musically To-Mera have become a bit heavier. One may ask how, given the sound of their first album. However, the comments the band released during the recording do seem to hold up and indeed are true. To-Mera can be classified among the modern Prog bands that try to make their sound as thick as possible with heavy riffs, full bass, excessive double bass-beat and an overtone of symphonic sounding keyboards. Normally I find the result a bit one-sided. But there are two differences that make To-Mera stand out.

First, other bands don't have Julie Kiss on vocals. It's not easy to follow her voice and singing style. Her voice is versatile and she's not all that much following the rhythm or melody of the underlying song. It's like trying to follow two paths at the same time going in different direction at different speed. It's like trying to drive a car with two steering wheels, one for the left and one for the right front wheel. Navigating the vocal and instrumental melodies together is sort of an adventure where one is bound to discover much with every listen. Julie's voice is a great counterweight that balances the music, that seems to bring order to chaotic nature of the songs.

Second, other bands don't have To-Mera's song writing. The music is constantly changing and ranging between two extremities. On one side there is this wall of sound, strong and forceful, blasting away full of anger and aggression. On the other side there are beautiful breathers and Jazzy interludes that calm the storms of the instrumental insanity. Everything else falls between these two sides. It's quite hard to listen, as just about the moment that I decide that some riff or passage is extremely cool, it's already past and a couple of others have passed as well. Feels like chasing a rabbit all the time being a couple of turns behind.

"Delusions" is considerably better flowing than "Transcendental," it has a couple pointy corners less and feels generally less edgy and more coherent. While it is at least as good as the début - and that took quite some time to figure out - To-Mera is yet to reach the heights they can reach. When they manage to glue it all together, the result may be a monumental piece. So far it's a little step closer towards that result, a little step but a worthwhile effort and great listening.