To-Mera
Transcendental

This is certainly a golden period for all female-fronted metal bands (it's unfortunate to use such a definition but necessary to make readers understand which music scene I'm referring to), and if lately great albums like "The Heart of Everything" by Within Temptation and "Illumination" by Tristania have demonstrated the infinite potential for success of a proposal based as much on elegance and sincerity as on compositional simplicity, we can also find here and there some other groups led by a beautiful singer who has progressively managed to replace the familiar dark pathos recreated by keyboards, orchestrations, and female vocals, with a musical concept relating to the search for new patterns, the subversion of preset canons, reaching their own dimension.

The first ones that come to my mind are After Forever, great innovators and sincere musicians, having just released yet another masterpiece (the self-titled album that will be released in a few days), but recently a new name (inspired by an ancient Egyptian word) has surfaced: To-Mera.

The band is Anglo-Saxon and was formed from an encounter just over a year ago between the Hungarian singer Julie Kiss (ex-Without Face) and the former leader of Candlelight Records, ex-Extreme Noise Terror, bassist Lee Barrett. Their ideas are quite clear: the common intention is not to fit into any of those categories or subgenres often imposed by critics; the disarming result is called "Transcendental" (no other title would seem more appropriate). If I strain myself, I could speak of a mixture between jazz (a quality they share with the very valid Madder Mortem), progressive and thrash metal, with very vaguely gothic metal hints (but only due to Julie's sharp voice), but it's almost absurd to try to dissect a proposal like this, which lives on its own light and without fear it amazes and moves from the first listen, also thanks to an indisputable technical baggage and the vast repertoire of the individual components, wholly devoted to the cause of creating excellent music. It's clear that a form so varied and challenging like this might not appeal to those looking for yet another confirmation of the Nightwish-style or standard structured compositions, but all those who appreciate bands trying to unite seemingly distant elements in their sound (at the risk of being verbose or pretentious) should buy this album blindly.

Together with the great After Forever, The Provenance, and Madder Mortem, To-Mera represents the most innovative female-fronted edge of metal in the new millennium. However, I believe that, for now, it will be especially the progsters who will love their sound madly, perhaps due to some influences traceable to Dream Theater, skillfully reworked but maybe still somewhat evident.

The excursion begins with "Traces", a short but intense song comparable to a sea initially calm (introduced by vocals with oriental memories followed by a long solo by Tom McLean's guitar) and progressively ruffled by waves (as the entire instrumentation comes into play), then again tamed to become a comforter of the soul (thanks to a goosebump-inducing piano break). A sharp riff introduces us into a kaleidoscope of colors and emotions responding to the name "Blood", the first single (for which a video with rather cinematic connotations was made, viewable on the group's MySpace page) and the most listenable song on the platter (a definition to be taken in any case with caution). The real highlights of the track, however, are the duets between the piano and the guitar's stop-and-go, as well as the beautiful prog passage that anticipates the closing. "Dreadful Angel" alternates slowdowns with sudden accelerations and is supported by aggressive riffs and the hammering rhythm of bass and drums; a violent solo bursts in at the track's midpoint introducing fearsome and engaging jazz-flavored progressions worthy of the best historical acts. The accumulated tension culminates in a dark, crescendo ending (skillfully shifting from prog to thrash). Sinister sounds introduce "Phantoms", initially an unstoppable vortex in its double bass attacks truly "in your face" by the fantastic drummer Aquiles Priester, who during the central break becomes a true stage for Hugo Sheppard's keyboards and Julie's voice, who reaches incredible interpretative peaks.

To the melancholic acoustic guitar hints that peek in "Born of Ashes", the keyboardist returns again (to create a Hollywood-like triumph of epic symphonies) and the rest of the band, creating a perfect prog/power episode, spiced up with the usual, gripping, and sudden time changes. It begins like a romantic nocturne by Chopin "Parfum". But between creepy whispers and moonlit visions, electric guitars interrupt for a brief moment leaving space for a remarkable jazz interval, in which the bass gradually bursts in, followed in quick succession by an explosive solo. In short, this track is a continuous alternation of slow parts and rages interspersed by a dark chorus, a successful and masterfully managed combination by the five musicians from Albion. In closing, we find a drum solo and a short thrash burst, and then back again as if within a night landscape engulfed by the thickest fog, recreated by the piano chimes "Obscure Oblivion", the only real piece that adds gothic influences (even bordering on industrial) to To-Mera's contaminated sound. The concluding "Realm of Dreams" is a perfect summary of everything heard so far, adorned, among other things, by effective atmospheric samples. Just know that its combination of acoustic guitar, voice, and piano is moving and alone is worth the purchase of the album.

Unconventional, inspired, courageous, refined, unpredictable music, without any trace of verbosity and mannerism. This is the only classification that comes to mind and seems to fit perfectly after listening once again to an excellent debut like "Transcendental", whose only minor flaw is neglecting emotions a little in favor of an impactful sound. Confident in a confirmation, I hope that all those who really feel the need to expand their musical horizons will know to give a chance even to these still debuting but already great and refined artists of sonic progression.