Grey Season – Invidia

[nyrating]

18th June 2015 Rob Pociluk Album Reviews 0

You can sometimes tell a lot about a band based on how they develop album to album. I was able to listen to the previous album by Grey Season “Septem” at the same time as their new release “Invidia.” “Septem” is a basic metalcore album that did nothing for me. The good news is that since that album, they have evolved.

“Invidia” represents a quantum leap forward for Grey Season. Though even with that, it is not without its flaws. But still, the band is clearly changing for the better. The album starts with “Inferiors” which has some metalcore vocals but under it is pure prog metal complete with a beautiful piano finale. The album is like a donut.

I love the ends of it but there is a hole in the middle! “Reflections” has an awesome riff to start it, “Reclusive Years” is another solid prog metal track. “Maere” is the real departure which shows just how far Grey Season have come. It has an incredible vocal over a peaceful guitar and piano arrangement. It shows what this band is capable of. And that makes the next few songs all the more disappointing. They aren’t as bad as the tracks from “Septem,” but the middle of this album does revert slightly backward to their older sound.

Things are corrected by the time we get to “Pandemic Winter” which has a very large dramatic feel to it. The only issue with it is that the vocal is a bit over the top, basically yelling rather than singing. “Red Forest” might be my favorite track on the album with a nice use of electric piano. The vibe of “Red Forest” and the epic that follows it, “Black Seas of Infinity,” is VERY progressive. I think both of these tracks outline the direction that Grey Season SHOULD go in. Time will tell.

The good news about “Invidia” is that the album shows a young band that is finding its sound and growing. The bad news is that the band is like an awkward teenager in the process of maturing. Sometimes things don’t quite work but you can tell they are still growing.

Tracklist: