CRYSTAL PALACE – Dawn Of Eternity (2016)
Excellent German combo CRYSTAL PALACE are back with a new album titled “Dawn Of Eternity“, something you need to hear if you are regularly following this blog.
We already presented here their previous record three years ago, and this new effort is equally superb.
Why mess with a great thing. That was my initial thought after listening “Dawn Of Eternity”, musically following the same path of its predecessor; highly melodic art rock music that will appeal to fans of the moodier side of progressive rock, melodic rockers and even fans of accessible hard rock.
The disc includes eleven strong tracks starting with “Dawn”, a short instrumental piece setting an ominous tone with some chilling drones and cool sound effects.
The set truly begins with the awesome “Confess Your Crime” that has the band venturing from lighter shades to heavier motifs complete with soaring vocals and guitar. The soundscape isn’t overly dense allowing for great clarity and separation amongst the instruments. Everybody that loves the earlier Dream Theater should listen to this track, that being clean progressive hard rock with punch. It’s build on a constant interplay of loud and silent which makes it to one of the best tunes on this album.
Throughout the disc the instrumentation is as tasteful as it gets, particularly the guitar and keyboards and the vocals are very good as well. “Eternal Step” is another moody track where a melodic guitar work and smartly played keyboards should appeal to a broad range of rock listeners.
“Any Colour You Need” begins with a subdued piano melody as an enveloping shroud of moodiness pervades the music. The vocals have a cool echo effect and as the music subtly builds, crashing riffs add a heightened sense of drama. Great stuff.
More stand out tracks include the heavier “Fields Of Consciousness” that has the band channeling a bit of Porcupine Tree, and the shining album closer “The Day That Doesn’t End” where the guitar soars once again through some melodic rock elements / arrangements, making this one a personal favorite.
Crystal Palace’s “Dawn Of Eternity” is a highly melodic and brilliantly played album from a band that is slowly becoming one of my favorites from the melodic progressive genre.
It blends many styles always with a ‘song format’ all delivered with a stupendous pristine production, ‘crystal’ indeed.
Very, Highly Recommended
01 – Dawn
02 – Confess Your Crime
03 – Eternal Step
04 – Any Colour You Need
05 – Daylight After The Rain
06 – Fields Of Consciousness
07 – Hearts On Sale
08 – Eternity
09 – All Of This
10 – Sky Without Stars
11 – The Day That Doesn’t End
Yenz Strurz – vocals, bass
Frank Köhler – keyboards, synths
Tom Ronney – drums
Nils Conrad – guitars
Markus Reuter – guitars
BUY IT !
www.gentleartofmusic.com/shop/crystal-palace-dawn-of-eternity-cd/?lang=en
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