For a science enthusiast and sci-fi freak like me, Auspex's 'Heliopause' promises a lot of fun when reading the covers. There are spatial things and electric sheep abound. However, the lyrics are dressed up in fantasy, mythologic, folkloric and psychedelic forms. What I've read from an interview with the band, they've evolved from a speed metal band to a progressive metal band, during the debut release 'Mysteries of the Stars' EP (2006), first full length album 'Resolutio' (2007) and this one.

Auspex sound characteristic. The band are quite adventurous, like jumping from symphonic metal to soundtrack-ish stuff (some does heavily remind of Japanese game music and anime music), not forgetting those hefty progressive elements. Sometimes it feels, that a song isn't going anywhere, or what's worse, the album itself isn't going anywhere. Well, the compositions weren't kept short. Okay, the band play hell out of themselves, but there are no many hooks to catch. For my ears, the music is simply too full! I bet understanding of, or at least listening to classical music will help a lot in apprehending Auspex's sophisticated music. It is also way too pompous and theatrical for my liking. The song number six is the easiest one to start with, and the next one, and the next one. Maybe one day I'll get the whole... I mean,song 6-8 feel like they are far more easier to get into, even though the songs are curvy as hell for a big part. But, they also are far more memorable. If there is something heavy on the album, maybe some atmospheres, emotions and lyrical bits.

The guitars play solid riffs, leads or classical style. The synths play a huge part in Auspex's music, presenting anything from classical music to piano, and to electronic sounds. Some of the synth sounds are very basic, even cheap-sounding. The bassist and the drummer are evidently great players. The female vocals (no male ones here, except some spoken ones) are, expectedly, professional. The vocalist lady handles this theatrical style very well, but also jazzy and whatever bits there are. Her voice is closer to Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel than anyone else I've heard. Soundwise the album could be a bit clearer and also with a bigger range of deep sounds. As there is a huge amount of stuff going on in the music, this would have needed a better production job.

I have tried to crack this nut of an album for months, and this is the best description I can come up with. 'Heliopolis' is way beyond my comprehension, being absolutely too stuffed up music for me to listen to, I'm afraid. I just get overdose of it during the first proper song. But as said, there are better songs on the second half. If you are looking for a theatrical metal opera partly happening in anime worlds, then try 'Heliopolis'.

Rating: 6 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
04/04/2011 14:09