Distorted Harmony
Chain Reaction

The first half of the seventies was an oasis for music lovers, mainly thanks to the emergence of progressive rock, which broke down every existing barrier and canon to create something new.

It didn’t last long, destroyed by the rawness, "ignorance," and communicative need of punk; but today, many young musicians, fascinated by those experiments, strive to revive that music by modernizing it, for better or worse.

But, let's be honest, the truly valid acts are very few.

However, from Israel comes this band, Distorted Harmony, new standard-bearers of the recent wave of Progressive Metal known as Djent. They debuted in 2012 with their self-produced "Utopia" and in 2014 released "Chain Reaction," their second album.

It had been a long time since I heard such a progressive record that was not just a mere technical demonstration for autoerotic purposes (recent Dream Theater is a case in point), but rather pure emotion.

Speaking of style, unlike many peers (such as Periphery or Tesseract), the Israeli band's singer, Misha Soukhinin, uses only clean vocals (and what a clean voice), without tainting the sound with screams or growls.

Their sound is filled with melodies produced by the keyboard of that little genius, Yovan Efron, who, besides laying down the sonic canvas on which the other members then paint their songs, is the author of the lyrics, which are very poetic and perfectly suited to the music offered.

As already mentioned, this record is not a mere demonstration of technique, so you will almost never hear any members embarking on flashy solos; rather, you will perceive listening to a single musical block, as if track division did not exist, in pure progressive style.

However, Distorted Harmony adds a strong dose of metal to the progressive foundation, accompanying sweet melodies and monumental choruses ("As One") with heavy riffs that, being in stark contrast with the group's prevailing melodic taste, will surprise us even more, and not too rarely will we find ourselves doing a bit of healthy headbanging ("Children Of The Red").

Therefore, there is no need to describe each track individually; it's enough to know that the work evolves as it goes along, with screaming piano interweaves, poetically subdued vocalizations, and metal riffs in abundance. "Chain Reaction" is truly a chain reaction of emotions that, once over, makes us wish it had lasted longer. "Chain Reaction" is a record to be listened to alone. Better if it's raining outside. Better if under blankets. And better if it's a time when we are a bit overwhelmed and disgusted by the world we live in, so maybe we can remember that there is still something beautiful out there.

At least worth a try.