#37 - Age of Nemesis

One of the more obscure acts on this long list of obscure acts, Hungarian prog-metal band Age of Nemesis released their first few albums domestically only, as not much of the outside listening world would have flocked to an album sung in Magyar.  Many of their works have since been translated into and recorded in English, and as far as I know, they've had three albums released internationally by Sensory and Magna Carta Records, two big fish labels in the small pond of progressive metal.  Nemesis is a bit of an anomaly, in that their albums are so polished they sound like a major player in the genre, but one can easily find references to so many small stage performances and cover versions of the metal standards, an inference can be made that they're essentially a really, really good cover band that has managed to get decent distribution on some of their original work.  As for their musical style, they're firmly in the prog vein... heavy on the keyboards, soaring and powerful high-pitched clean vocals, and impressively technical playing, particularly from guitarist and founder Zoltán Fábián.  While not particularly unique, I think they do it better than just about anyone else, and they tend toward a more driving rock sound than many others, recalling greats Deep Purple and Iron Maiden, and resulting in a sound that is just plain fun to listen to.

Age of Nemesis has grown more polished over the years, and the track I'm going to share is the opener from their third and most recent album (the English language version), Terra Incognita.  The song is called "Tree of Life" and, while not especially complex, is a fun listen, an impressive performance and a thoughtful composition.  I think the somewhat lengthy introduction does a nice job of setting up the vocal entrance and main song form.  I also like the variety of sounds you get from the guitar parts and to a lesser extent, the keys.  The vocals are really nicely done too, especially the multi-part harmonies in the chorus.  Check it out.  As I've been doing with some bands lately, I'm also going to throw in a cover of Deep Purple's "Burn", which not only rocks, but also cleverly offers a different interpretation of the main riff every time it's reintroduced throughout the song.  Again, a really fun recording.