Abandoned Stars – Fragments (2015)

Arriving from the UK, today we have Abandoned Stars and their brilliant debut full-length release “Fragments”. Featuring over 64 minutes of bombastic and acrobatic Progressive/Power Metal, this band makes a strong impression with great musicianship and even better song writing skills. For fans of bands like Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, and Stratovarius, “Fragments” is one hell of a musical ride that should be in everybody’s album collection.

Not wasting much time after the traditional atmospheric intro, “The Sleepless Man’s Conscious Dream” instantly sets a very lively tempo with solid guitar leads and intricate tempo changes. Olivier Hadder’s vocals are quite distinct and range from power/heavy metal notes to darker and more somber deeper tones, giving them great range and diversity, as we can hear in the excellent “Neverwhere” and the rest of the release.

The Stratovarius-esque “Betrayed By Blood” is one of our favorite tracks thanks to the tight drumming and excellent vocal arrangements. All elements are very well framed by the guest keyboards of Juan Pablo Dussan. Playful tracks like “Fallen Apart” perfectly showcase the band’s ability to diverge from the norm and create their own unique sound that sets them apart. After the brilliant ballad-esque “Too Close To You”, the band shows their Proggy side on “Lost” and its interesting tempo changes.

Saving the best and most epic for last, “Perception of the I” and “Worst of Mankind” feature killer guitar leads by Peppe Schiavone and the always impressive drums of Tony Hodge. As a whole “Fragments” features brilliantly crafted songs that are quite engaging and very technically impressive. While the band shows influences from other bands, they have enough creative ideas to standout on their own and deliver a highly recommended Progressive/Power Metal release for any fan of the genre.

Label: Ouergh Records

Release: February 28th, 2015

Genre: Progressive/Power Metal

Country: UK