Some albums show their beauty right from the beginning, other albums must be listened to from the beginning to the end before you can truly appreciate them. Vitruvius’ “Above the Silvered Sky” belongs to the latter group. After the short piano-driven intro “Prelude,” the album continues with “Heaven or Hell,” which is a splendid contribution to the world of melodic progressive metal with fusion elements. Combine that with the charismatic vocals of Dulce Robles, and you get something very interesting with this release.

There is a development throughout the album. The next song, for instance, is still fast paced but it adds on melody even more, as Robles is beginning to sound a tiny bit more melodic which befits the song quite well. After that another super fast beginning, but this time with some slower parts thrown in for variety. And yes, said variety makes the song much more enjoyable than it would be otherwise.

The things get slowed down with “The Maze” which beginning hints somewhat theatrical approach by the band. After a while the electric instruments begin to kick in, but the song is still slow which is nice for a change. Robles introduces a bit of operatic singing, and the tempo changes from classic prog metal to the already mentioned fusion.

What to think of this? The label “Prog” fits the album due to its variety, and the addition of fusion motifs certainly contribute to it. The vocalist, for instance, experiments with all sorts of ways of how to deliver her lines, and she does it exceptionally well. The same goes for the differences in pace. You get a nice mixture of slow- and fast-paced tunes which showcase the band’s skills. This all makes the album unpredictable, and that’s something good.

Get “Above The Silvered Sky” from Bandcamp and support the band.

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Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there … brought to you by two of the best father-son themed songs ever, courtesy of the Drive-By Truckers.