Spheric Universe Experience
Anima

Mmm… what to say??? How to review a work like this today? Can one turn a blind eye to the total lack of originality, in favor of a technical development pursuit and catchy melodies? Is it possible to continue having to pull out the name of Dream Theater whenever reviewing a progressive metal album? I'll say no, because the average listener, or at least I, am tired of this continual sprouting of new bands that last two or three albums and then disappear into nothingness, just as they arrived. Among the heap of trash bands also fall these Spheric Universe Experience, a French band of little note attempting the big leap with this "Anima" from 2007, with a result that will be easily forgotten within a few years.

The line-up is currently as follows:

Fred Colombo - keyboards

Vince Benaim – guitars

John Dari – bass

Frank Garcia – vocals

Nico Muller – drums

Musically, this "Anima" appears quite complex from a technical standpoint, the pursuit of somewhat unconventional melodic solutions and continuous technical prowess dominate, boring the listener after a few minutes because it's not a showcase so extreme to bring to mind bands like Spiral Architect or Watchtower, who made perfectly executed instrumental prowess their calling card; the technical capabilities of these Frenchmen are more typical of the average progster, which let's face it, is tiresome. Melodically we're almost at acceptable levels; there are attempts in certain passages to add a touch of class to the compositions, bringing out impressive keyboard parts, such as in "The Inner Quest," a truly spectacular piece where a decidedly more personal soul emerges, developing along a more personal path influenced by more typically Northern European influences, without falling into plagiarism; the problem is that if there are small flashes of genius or glimpses of light, the rest of the platter then returns to mimicking more well-known colleagues, and everything good that can be found eventually dissolves into an infinite ocean of banality. In this scenario, pieces like "Neptune’s Revenge" follow, a mix between Symphony X and Dream Theater in their pseudo-metallic turn, or "World Of Madness," which starts excellently opened by a piano carpet, but then gets ruined due to guitar work as flat as few and on rhythmic patterns already overused.

Another criticism goes to the singer, technically very skilled, for heaven’s sake, but where is the interpretation? What are we listening to, a singing exercise? A performance like "look, I can switch from low to high tones with surprising ease," or are we hearing an album that should offer something personal? Maybe it's this that these Frenchmen haven’t understood either: it’s not enough to possess great potential to create something good, or even just acceptable; additional qualities are needed that allow recognition and that allow you to shine in a scene that increasingly seems stale and dominated only by names with established fame.

As far as the other aspects are concerned, this product handles itself more than well since the production is excellent, the sounds are cleaner than an operating room in a Luxembourgish hospital, and aesthetically the album presents itself very well, with an extremely curated artwork and booklet, but it's the final substance that's missing.

A lost opportunity then, a pity, the resources were there but were completely wasted. Until next time, if anyone even signs them a contract again.