Here's a band surely worthy of your consideration, the French act called Anthropia, whose music is a rousing blend of Melodic/Progressive/Power metal. Anthropia's latest, titled The Chain Reaction, is the second album from this electrifying group. The Chain Reaction reveals a band that hasn't released an album of tedious music, Anthropia throw in many varied surprises, making The Chain Reaction a very likeable release indeed.

The bands founder is guitarist and vocalist Hugues Lefebvre, and for the most part the music and lyrics are his work. Hugues has assembled quite the competent line-up of musicians, as there are impressive performances on this album from all those involved, whether it's what they convey through their instruments or the male/female vocals.

The concept of The Chain Reaction is "we meet a soul who is fed up with always doing nicely what he is told; in his next life, he will do exactly what he wants. Unfortunately, this behavior and the tragic loss of his soul mate will lead to an unexpected outcome; the end of all mankind".

The Chain Reaction begins with a brief instrumental "Incarnation(Prologue)", next up the stomping metal track "A New Self" makes a lasting impression."Whipping Soul" follows being another fine track, two of the eleven numbers on here clock in at over eight minutes, those being "Trinity (The New Consensus)" and the Ayreonish "The Tree Of Life", and both are splendid additions to the album. The exciting "The Altar Of Trust" is one of many standouts, this heavy progressive track rocks hard and has a smashing solo section, and Anthropia close the album with a lighter acoustic track "Breeze in the Leaves (Epilogue)".

Anthropia's The Chain Reaction will satisfy fans of first-rate melodic progressive/power metal; this is one of the better releases I've heard this year.

As an additional note, the album was released back in February but only in France; however it can now be purchased through their website link below.
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Well what do you know. This band is what I'm always looking for. Bands that strive to be different. This is Dark and moody as all get out. And sometimes down right creepy. Reminds me of Beyond Twilight (Beyond Twilight is AWESOME if you don't know)with all the weird vocal arrangements going on. If you like Beyond Twilight then this might be your cup of tea. It's not as twisted as Beyond Twilight by any means but great Progressive Metal going on here. A must have. Vocals are great, music is awesome and solos are present. Not anything profound in song structures but the vocals make this band excel to the next level. Vocal lines are really odd sometimes and scary sounding. That's what they were going for and they succeeded ten fold. The Synths have a creepy echo behind the music. The only problem I have with this is the fact that later in the album the weird vocal lines and scary music subside a lot. Was not happy with that. They are still there a little but you have to pay attention to hear them. But OOOHHHHH boy I love this!!!!!!!!!!
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Just when I thought I had my mind made up for March's album of the month, along comes Anthropia's The Chain Reaction, a nearly flawless work of traditional melodic progressive metal. Once again Hughes Lefebvre brings a concept album from his own vivid imagination. Though the story of a disappointed and contentious traveling soul is interesting, it is in the telling of the tale, the masterful music presentation, that makes The Chain Reaction more compelling.

Except for a slight stumble along the way, from beginning to end, The Chain Reaction kept me interested and satisfied. Every arrangement is built upon a steady melodic foundation. From here Anthropia ventures from power to progressive metal, often weaving the two together in a highly entertaining and thrilling package. Most notable of this combination are the three back to back pieces: 'Whipping Soul,' 'The Torn Off Wing Of The Butterfly,' and 'Take Me Home.' The first is marked by an impressive bass line and a classical piano seque. The third offers a more innovative arrangement with a great groove reminding more of prog rock than metal. For strict melodic progressive metal the highlight is the longest song, 'The Tree Of Life,' which never gets dull and is filled with vibrant guitar work. My only reservation was with 'Trinity' which bordered on generic power metal with a droning and repetitive finale. However, this downturn is redeemed by an inspiring instrumental break about three minutes in.

Overall, Anthropia's The Chain Reaction is first rate traditional melodic progressive metal, captivating and entertaining. I was constantly amazed at the breadth and creativity of the arrangements. This is a work well done. Highly recommended.
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Anthropia is a French band who with 'The Chain Reaction' release their second album. In 2006 the band debuted with the album 'The Ereyn Chronicles Part One' which was released on the famous Magna Carta label. Even more than nowadays the band then was a solo project of guitarist/vocalist/ composer Hugues Lefebvre. Now he has gathered other musicians around him, but still Hugues is the man who writes and rules. Fortunately, the man understands the art of composing.

'The Chain Reaction’ is a concept album. In short, the story is about a 'soul' that has had enough of always having to obey orders from his masters. He is being kept on a leash and a lot of promises are made. He decides to only do what he wants in his next life. But this behaviour and the loss of his soul mate, result in an unexpected ending; the end of human kind. You may understand it is a science fiction story which also has some biblical elements. The implementation of the songs is perfect and the CD also sounds very solid (Tommy Hansen did the mastering of the CD, Hugues himself was responsible for the production). The music reminds me a lot of the work of Pain Of Salvation and to a lesser degree of a band like Evergrey. Everything a concept album in this genre needs is there: heavy parts and sensitive passages, flashy solos and beautiful acoustic guitar parts, great solo and harmony vocals (the combination of Hugues and Nathalie Olmi is perfect), pounding drums and atmospheric piano pieces. The highlight of the CD for me is ‘The Torn Off Wing Of The Butterfly’ because of all the ideas that are incorporated in that song. For fans of the bands mentioned above, this is a compulsory purchase.
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