(Melodic Progressive Metal) [CD] Carisma - 1825 - 1996, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

It's no secret that some of my favorite all-time discs are concept discs. So when I found out many moons ago that this disc [Carisma's "1825"] was a concept disc, I went on a disc hunt and found out that the disc was long out of print. It's going to be very hard to describe this disc, but not because it is any different from any other concept disc, but because of the emotion and story line behind it. It would be so much easier to say that a disc sounds like Operation : Mindcrime, or The Wall but when a disc comes along that is built on tons of emotion, say like Eternity X's The Edge, it becomes difficult to describe those feelings in text.

Before I describe the music, I thought I'd give a bit of information about the story line behind this disc. I am not a historian, so I don't know much about what this story about personally. What the band has done, is take a historical event, write a story about it and then set some awesome, melodic prog metal to it. I know a lot of bands write this way, but I found it intriguing that a band would pick a historical event to write about and then try to set music to it in this manner. Somehow, it works. The story is about a woman named Maren Nielsdatter who lived from 1807-1825. She fell in love with a young man, but her rich father would not let her marry below her dignity. The story continues on as Maren and her lover plot to murder the man that her father wishes her to marry, but they are caught, and Maren's lover turns them all in as being the murderers. They are then sentenced to death. There is much more to the story than this, and the band write a long story about the event in the CD insert. Very intriguing.

Once again, I wish I could give an easy description of what this disc sounds like, but it is difficult. It is definitely melodic prog metal with an emphasis on MELODIC. If I had to pick a band that this band resembles at least in a bit of the style or sound, I would have to say that Queensryche is that band. The music is some of the warmest prog metal I have ever heard. It is a guitar / keyboard driven mix with the guitars laying down the base sound, while the many swirling synths create a haunting atmosphere to go with the strange story line. To my ears, the combination is brilliant. For those of you who like their keyboarded prog metal, this is the ticket. Between the piano and the synths, there is enough warmth here to keep you warm throughout the winter without a blanket. The music is absolutely gorgeous without sacrificing their heaviness or progression. When prog metal is played this beautifully, it somehow becomes so hard to explain in text what the basic sound is that the band is trying to put across. Thus, it is easy to say that this band drives it's music home with emotion, and uses the beauty to force you to pick up the lyric sheet, which is quite long, and follow along as they sing of Maren's life, loves, and death. I found myself actually feeling bad for Maren about halfway through this disc, and I could feel the chills as Kare Amelung sings of Maren's undying love for her boyfriend. All I can say basically is this: If you can imagine what Queensryche would sound like now taking some haunting sounds from "The Warning", and mixing in some emotional parts of "Promised Land", and injecting enough warmth to almost make you cry, this is what you are in for. This disc is definitely one the most beautifully played disc I have ever heard.

If I sound excited, I am. Concept disc lovers, who want to sit back, turn out the lights and get lost in a deep, different, meaningful story will love this thing. It's beauty defies my description here. Those into the more melodic side of prog metal as I am, are going to filp over this disc as well. WARMTH is the key word here, and I know there are tons of people who are always looking for that mandatory warmth in their prog metal. Look no further, its here. I defy anyone not to get goosebumps on the 3rd song, "Heed My Call". I play this song over and over again to watch the goosebumps arise time and time again, and its a challenge to keep this from happening. Overall, this is one of the biggest surprises for me of 1997. The disc is 52:00 long and I will say that the ending is bit abrupt. It ends without warning, but I'll bet this is intentional as well, because this disc is one long roller coaster ride of emotions, and the frustration you feel when this thing ends is indicative of what the rest of the disc is about. Melodic Prog Metal lovers, unite!!!! This is ESSENTIAL!!!!!!

Progressive World

Kåre Amelung - lead and backing vocals, bass
Jan Black - electric and acoustic guitars
Jon Froda - keyboards
Jesper Arvidson - drums