A mild, epic, transient, mellow, and brilliant progressive metal album that needs much explaining to be convinced that this is definitely worth purchasing to those lovers of this particular genre of music. The combination of female vocals mixed with a combination of clean tone guitars with a smidgen more of heavier distorted guitar, but slow tempos on all songs combined with a modicum amount of lead guitar work accompanied by a production that's equipped with all instruments/vocals with a totally submissive yet completely awesome sound to it. This is a moody release, meaning it takes it's form with different masks.

The keyboard work is so transient and melodic. Highly original in that area, reflective of Opeth's 'My Arms, Your Hearse' (1998) via the song entitled 'Epilogue'. However, it is still original in it's own sense. Just that as an example. Phavian is milder than old Opeth and much less aggressive than them musically speaking. The female voice is so seductive and the songs on this 6 track release is so sedative that suits it good to mellow out to. Something definitely amazingly sleep hypnotic and relaxing. Don't expect anything exceptionally heavy on this release because it simply branches out to melodic and progressive metal to the core of a conglomeration.

I fell in love with this album, much apology in not being able to hear Meridian I, which yielded average results by listeners. Phavian definitely is a talented progressive metal band and 'Meridian II' is filled with such an amazing tone to it that devastates those to which prefer to rely on not so heavy bands. I'd think of them as being a mix of bands including Evanescence with old Opeth. There really isn't much aggression at all with this album. It's solely epic as explained before and totally original in the sense of their guitar riffs sounds like none that I've heard before with other progressive metal acts with old Opeth as an exception. But Phavian remains to be much less deathly like.

If you're going to have a female vocalist in a metal band, it's so much less aggression in the music to accompany with that particular singer. The music they came out with when they wrote the music to this album fits so perfectly with their genre and doesn't drown out the melodic guitar riffs and each clean/acoustic overtures combined with heavier guitar is so much suitable for the album to bare resemblance to a true nocturne of a configuration. The music is soothing and mystical. This band knows how to define their genre wholly. Another point on a female vocalist in a metal band, they shouldn't drown out the music like that of Angela in Arch Enemy. Total dislike and distasteful.

There seems to be keyboards that do play in the background in pretty much all songs which give it a kind of echo or reverb sense to each track. Phavian's mission I think is to continue to progress in years to come and evolve musically. Such admiration if I have for the music on this release. It sounds to me like no other nowadays. I'm unaware of their lyrical content since none is available in the CD casing. If you like progressive metal, you'll fall in love with this release as I have. Sometimes I can't resist to hear this one on repeat. Pick it up, it will not disappoint!

Rating: 9 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
03/15/2013 15:10