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I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that the Progressive
Metal sub-genre has exploded the way that it has. After all
when heavy metal became a viable genre in the mid seventies
it too blossomed and continues to have a sizeable following
to this day. Those same people have the opportunity to be
exposed to prog-metal bands in far greater degrees than regular
rock fans get to hear other progressive rock artists. In the
metal world there is more opportunity for mass exposure in
the mainstream. That should come as good news for a band like
Thessera who’ve just released their first CD called Fooled
Eyes. ***
This Brazilian six-member outfit came together in early
2003 and consists of Marcelo Quina (vocals), Nando Costa (guitar),
Raphael Lamim (guitar), Marcelo Mattos (bass), Rodolfo Amaro
(keyboards) and Fernando Cerutti (drums). As with most bands
their craft was shaped on the road, doing as many live gigs
as they could manage, even performing as the opening act for
Angra in 2004. ***
If I had to summarize the music of Thessera, I’d say
it contains more variety or musical dynamics than Dream Theatre
but still manages to stay clearly and squarely in the prog-metal
sub-genre. Many of the songs tend to be up-tempo affairs,
with twin guitars blazing-and/or-crunching away. Where they
get top marks is in their attempts to incorporate more mellow
or transitional elements throughout the disc including healthy
doses of acoustic guitars and a wide variety of keyboard sounds.
With over an hour worth of music here and only nine tracks,
you know most of them are long which provides an expansive
musical canvas for them to work on. Fooled Eyes is a concept
CD about a young man who faints at a party, has a series of
dreams about the torments of his growing up only to wake up
to a much darker nightmare. All songs are sung in English
and along with the beautiful packaging and lyrics it’s pretty
easy to follow the story to its conclusion. ***
For a relatively new band, Thessera have much to offer
fans of the heavier side of progressive rock. Fooled Eyes
while displaying all the hallmark sounds fans have come to
expect and appreciate manages to display the beginnings of
an original sound where influences are hard to pin down. This
disc should find a ready home for all lovers of the prog-metal
sub-genre. But if you happen to be the mood for something
with a little more bite, a little more crunch this may appeal
to the more casual fan as well. ***
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