| The
Review |
Mid Period Fates Warning (ala 'Inside Out), and 'Presto/Roll
the Bones-era' Rush might have a soft spot in many people's
mind's, and maybe there is too much of an emphasis on the
world soft, however, you take that darkish production aspect
with the groove emphasized AOR atmosphere of bands such as
Line of Fire and Glenn Hughes' less bluesy relevant/heavier
solo material (think 'From Now On' or 'Feel'), and you have
Surveillance's musical approach to modern melodic metal. While
vocalist Lee Small tends to sound a bit like Hughes, at lest
on the imitateable side (he pulls it off, at least you can
tell that there is an influence) and axemen Connor Emms &
Rich Williams meld the Lifeson/Matheos/(Eric) Johnson six
string slinging throughout the record, the album's richness
moves through an atmosphere of heaviness that is driven by
power without the need for any overzealous sappiness. ***
Of course, in the world of AOR, we all do like our pop,
but we like it heavy too, and 'Angelstation' is just that,
heavy. Tracks such as "Reflections," "In Motion," "Mary,"
and "The Primitive Soul" offer up the hard driving tracks
filled with crunch and melody while "The Ghost in You" (no,
it's not a 'Furs' cover) offers moody darkness and "Awaken"
brings forth an emotional ballad, the latter eventually leading
into the closing gloomy heavy number titled "Truth." ***
These guys balance out the technical progressions without
going too far into the so-called 'prog-rock' realm (actually,
they are nowhere near that, so don't panic, or lose intrest),
and trust me, it's for the better. When looking at 'Angelstation,'
you can consider it a melodic metal album, but there are periods
of harder edged AOR and technicalities that keep the record
above par, so until the next record, it will be us that will
be waiting in anticipation and keeping 'surveillance' on these
guys.
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