Valley's Eve - The Atmosphere Of Silence

Year of Release: 1999
Label: B.Mind Records
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 56:12:00

In 1997 this German band came out of nowhere and independently released a pretty impressive debut CD, Prodogia. The album sold very good and was later officially released by Miez Records. Now they are back with their second CD, this time on B.Mind Records (Mind Odyssey, GB Arts).

Valley's Eve follow the tradition of the first CD, combining progressive elements with traditional metal. The guitars are heavy, with lots of staccato riffing, backed up by symphonic and piano-like keys. Some songs have a slight resemblance to the style of Superior's debut. The mid-ranged vocals by Greek Roberto Dimitri Liapkis is good and powerful, and the vocal-lines and choruses are melodic and catchy. The songs have a slightly dark and mystic atmosphere to them. While not being overly progressive, the songwriting and arrangements are just as good as most other bands of this ilk. The songs are very catchy and will probably be appreciated by fans of bands like Vanden Plas and Behind-era Superior. The production is of good quality and as good as most other prog metal releases, although there is room for improvement. Of the 12 tracks offered, there are a couple of fillers. The band could benefit of having a couple of songs less on this disc, as 10 great songs would improve the overall quality.

Still, this is well worth checking out. Fans of catchy and powerful, slightly progressive metal, should definitely check this one out, as this thing will slowly grow on you to be a really enjoyable piece of music. I think The Atmosphere Of Silence would be a nice introduction to this band.

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Religion War / Room Of Answers / My Last Breath / When Sun And Stars Refuse To Shine / A Raven Beside Me / Humans Load / Place Of Nightmares / Close Your Eyes / Nostalgia / Power Of Soul / Bonus Track: My Inner Vision

Musicians:
R.D. Liapakis - vocals
Frank Pane - guitars
Frank Huber - drums
Martin Albrecht - bass

Discography:
Prodgia (1998)
The Atmosphere Of Silence (1999)
Deception Of Pain (2002)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin DE

Added: March 29th 2005
Reviewer: Bjørnar Bevolden
Score:
Artist website: www.valleyseve.de
Hits: 2815
Language: english