Time Requiem - Time Requiem

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Regain Records
Catalog Number: RNA1016
Format: CD
Total Time: 59:28:00

Well. What we have here is a highly surprising album, to say the least. It is the brainchild of keyboardist Richard Andersson, following on from his revamped, rearranged and renamed project Majestic. Two albums were released under this name (Abstract Symphony in 1999 and Trinity Overture in 2000) before he overhauled the project to create Time Requiem. Using three musicians from Majestic (Peter Wildoer on drums, Apollo Papathanasio on vocals and Magnus Nordh on guitars) with a new bassist (Dick Lövgren), and Flower King Jonas Reingold to help with production, Time Requiem is one hell of an album.

The sound and mood is basically the same as Majestic, only ... more so, if that makes any sense. What we have here is incredibly active prog metal, with a huge amount of classical influence (for an example, listen to the opening of "Grand Opus"); Andersson's playing reminds me a little of the neoclassical keyboardist Andre Andersen (Royal Hunt) after thirteen hypothetical cups of coffee and roughly seven extra hands. Occasionally pompous, sometimes cheesy, always wanky, this album is lots of fun. There are aspects of a Christian theme in various songs, though it doesn't really come across as a religious album, and it makes the lyrics interesting.

Time Requiem is a prog album where the keyboardist is definitely riding shotgun. This is fair enough, it's his project after all. For pretty much all of the album he can be heard sprinting around the keys, generally upstaging the other musicians and doing his best to steal the vocalist's limelight as well. It kind of sounds like a game of "let's keep up with the keyboard player," but the others do a fine job ? Wildoer's drumming particularly is spot on, despite the frantic pace and the almost continuous double kicks. Nordh and Lövgren on guitar and bass seem to be there mostly to provide the jackhammer rhythm section, but there are solos from them to listen out for as well. Striving to keep his place atop the rest is Apollo Papathanasio, whose vocals are nicely diverse.

I'm almost ashamed to admit that my favourite track is the all-instrumental "Brutal Mentor," for the same reason I like Stratovarius' "Stratofortress" (from Elements Part I) which it vaguely resembles ? classical metal at a hundred miles an hour, completely irresistible in its cheesiness. Apart from this, the two I'd listen for are "Watching The Tower Of Skies" and "Visions Of New Dawn," which have some great melody lines. The other instrumental, "Interplay Of Matters," is a short choppy piece which is quite good, though it sounds suspiciously like riffs from the middle of Dream Theater's "Ytse Jam" (from When Dream And Day Unite).

This is one of those fun albums which I simply cannot take as seriously as it takes itself, as its very pomp and showiness are what makes it so enjoyable. Be warned ? if bombast and wankiness are not your things, stay far far away.

Similar to: Dream Theater, Stratovarius, Vanden Plas

[This review originally appeared September 2003 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Time Requiem (9:19) / Watching The Tower Of Skies (8:09) / Milagros Charm (5:54) / The Aphorism (6:32) / Brutal Mentor (5:52) / Visions Of New Dawn (6:50) / Grand Opus (7:39) / Interplay Of Matters (2:01) / Above And Beyond (7:08)

Musicians:
Richard Andersson - keyboards
Magnus Nord - guitars
Peter Wildoer - drums
Apollo Papathanasio - vocals
Dick L?vgren - drums

Guests:

Stefan Ingelstrand - backing vocals
Mattias Frisk - talking voice (1)
Inger Ohlen - female voice (1)

Discography:
Time Requiem (2002) Unleashed In Japan (2003) The Inner Circle of Reality (2004)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin SE

Added: January 31st 2005
Reviewer: Karyn Hamilton
Score:
Artist website: www.anderssonmusic.com
Hits: 1892
Language: english