It was nice to notice, that Italian progressive metallers Overtures aren't named after the musical term meaning:

"a. An instrumental composition intended especially as an introduction to an extended work, such as an opera or oratorio.
b. A similar orchestral work intended for independent concert performance."

Actually, they've been smart about this album and kept their songs rather short in terms of prog metal. Not a storm of useless intros, this one! Anyway, for me 'Enter the Maze' worked as an introduction about them, but is already their third full length album to date.

What's rather typical for many Italian prog metal bands, is that they are very melodic. This, too, is the case with Overtures. They present various moods here; life is a maze, and there are so much different emotional states in one. While the theme is ubiquitous, the music feels inviting. It is melodic, warm and catchy at its best. One of its sides is aggressiveness, but the band do not express it in very harsh, or brutal at all, ways. Hey, I wouldn't mind if they did!

Closest thing that Overtures remind me about are their countrymen Vision Divine. Labyrinth and Eldritch to some extent, too. Then there is a heap of other bands I hear in Overtures' music: Edguy, Symphony X (the heaviest bits usually sound like heavier SX) and Dream Theater. The music consists of power metal-tinged prog metal, as well as calm non-metal elements (don't ask me what they are, but they sound danceable and Mediterranean, ha). The band have chosen more groovy path, and not that technical route. That's not to say, that guys can't play or sing. No way, they surely can.

I find the vocalist Michele Guaitoli reaching for the best achievement. Due to his broad high-to-mid range and the skills frankly make him awe-inspiring to listen to. If there's a weak spot, it is his accent. It's not worst I've heard, but still rather considerable. There's some Fabio Lione (Vision Divine, Rhapsody Of Fire), Andi Deris (Helloween), Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia) and Roy Khan (ex-Kamelot, ex-Conception) in his voice, making him multifaceted. The worst thing about this is the keyboard playing, which is familiar and dull, but the band do not have a keyboardist, so I presume that's the reason.

One can hear, that the composing work for this album must have been a big task. However, it is not completely working. Some of the riffs here are bland, while some are marvellous. Same goes with the other elements of the music. Usually there is something, that keeps a song alive and advancing, but not always. To put it bluntly, and very much so, a song is more than just a chorus... It might be limping, but it's not falling on its face. The album seems to start a bit slow, and does not reach its zenith until 'Programmed to Serve'. Gladly this flow goes on until the end of the album.

The production job is partly good (the vocals and the drumming) and on the other hand, a bit powerless (the guitars and the bass). It sounds like partly self-made. There's a bonus DVD with rehearsal room live songs, video clips and a "making of", plus a nice rendition of Running Wild's 'Pirate Song'. Yarr!

'Entering the Maze' is a good album. It's more than easy to notice, that there's more to this band, so "good" is not enough. If it all was like the last three songs... Yeah, no matter how good parts and stuff there is before them, I feel the band could have done better. Maybe every song still haven't opened for me, hard to say. At least I know it has been a grower. However, this one should be checked out by those who love Italian progressive metal. And hey, fans of every aforementioned band might want to put Overtures down on your "check out" list, too.

Update on March 21st, 2017:: "Maybe every song still haven't opened for me, hard to say." That was exactly what happened! Even though I did listen to the album quite many times before writing this review, it really has bloomed during the last 3 or so years. This includes many great songs, with quite a lot of change in most of them. It's not the easiest bunch of songs to get into, but definitely worth digging in! My original score in September 2013 was 7+ out of 10, and it is safe to say it's closer to 8 now. - Lane

Rating: 8- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
09/10/2013 20:28