Artist: Creation’s End
Title: “A New Beginning”
Label: Sensory Records
Release Date: 11/9/2010
Genre: Progressive Metal/Power Metal
Rating: 4.25/5

Although I am hard pressed to use the term “super group” for fear of it no longer having significant impact, there is no question that Creation’s End is a band that features some superbly talented musicians and I anticipate them being one that will quickly rise to the top of the list in the hearts and minds of Progressive and Power Metal fans around the world. The band’s lineup finds singer Mike DeMeo (Masterplan, Riot, The Lizards) belting out some incredible notes over the lead guitar work of Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie) and to up the level of their game they add Rudy Albert (guitars/keyboards), Joey Black (bass) and Dario Rodriguez (drums) to the mix and together offer up some truly thrilling material. I’ve been a fan of DiMeo’s voice since his Riot days and I very much enjoyed his contributions to the Blues-based Rock band The Lizards and of course Masterplan. With this being the case I loved getting to hear him showcase his soaring register in a band where his range seems to be a perfect fit. On the guitar side it was interesting to hear Marco Sfogli showing off his technique with this material and I dare say that he broadened that which many first enjoyed on the James LaBrie album. He’s a monster player and the same seems to apply to all of the other members in the group but something clear hits you as the tunes pummel your senses and that is no one is showing off and going into long, overblown exercises. The group works together as a cohesive unit and doing it in this fashion allows all of them to shine as a single entity. There are quite a few lengthy passages on this eight track release which lets you get a little more out of the bands performance than a mere four or five minute number would allow and since there are so many different paths taken during the songs they deserve being quantified as “progressive”. Some of my favorites included “Forsaken”, “World Holocaust” and “Dissociate” along with the epic closer and band name “Creation’s End”. In my humble opinion the vocals of DiMeo have never been better and while it was a shame to see him move on from Masterplan not too long ago, he is now working with something that is also bringing a lot to the table and really lets him shine.

The second guitar which comes care of Rudy Albert is dead on and the musician also handles some keyboards and uses them well across the release. There are a number of interludes during the tunes that better set up the atmosphere and mood and I felt that it was a smart choice to have them present as it lets the songs become a lot more interesting. The drumming prowess of Dario Rodriguez is new to me but I am not a stranger to the bass styling of Joe Black. I’ve seen him in a number of independent projects over the years and have considered him one of the better bass players for this kind of music for some time. Thematically the recordings tunes are energetic but very, very dark and ominous in terms of what they are singing about. The cover displays what appears to be the Tree Of Life standing amidst a world that is coming to ruin. By the time we get to the end of the sixteen page booklet this symbol has been decimated and the world around it is ablaze. This makes it almost fitting that they chose to close the album with the bands title and this tune is a definite warning sign for us to pay heed to. It speaks of how the immediate threat to the Eden in which we live is humanity itself and perhaps all of the Global Warming cries and how technological progress that’s been made as also helped to destroy the environment is stuff that we should start paying more attention to in order to prevent our imminent end. This is a great debut and I hope the first of many solid releases for this band. This is a solid recommendation for fans of Masterplan, Tad Morose and perhaps even Kamelot. Nice work guys, I look forward to seeing this material presented on the live stage sometime soon.

Track Listing:
1. Of Shadow And Flame
2. World Holocaust
3. Hollow
4. Dissociate
5. Still Life
6. Forsaken
7. Relic
8. Creation’s End

Official Website: http://www.creationsend.net