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| Band: Sleepers Awake Location: Columbus, Ohio Album: Priests Of The Fire Genre: Rock Track Picks: "The Summoning," "Gulag," "Machines" Lowdown: Sleepers Awake's debut has ventured into a territory that some bands fear: avoidance of writing a song just for the sake of being a single. It's clear this band that formed in 2005 has a passion for artistic storytelling music; something that's often lost in chorus-heavy 3 minute 20 second songs. The closest song to a single could be the catchy track "Won't Let Go." And that's a good thing. At moments a guitar-driven jam band vibe seems dominate, but that's quickly diverted into sophisticated tempo-changing progressive rock with flowing transitions and varied tuning, reflective of Dream Theater and Opeth's style. At times Chris Thompson's vocals are reminiscent of Matthew Bellamy (Muse) with vibrato minus high octaves, most notable in "Gulag." Fans of Rush will likely appreciate "The Ancient" while those who like Tool and the bass dominance of Chevelle will appreciate the powerful song "The Colossus That Bestrode The World" as well as the emotional self-titled "Priests of the Fire." The closing track on this Joe Viers-produced album, "Machines," opens with a Pink Floyd riff variation, but makes a name for itself with a stunning metal guitar solo that aligns with Chris Burnsides' drumming. Priests of the Fire is a powerful electrifying album that will surely be difficult to imitate or top, truly setting itself apart from other area albums. Although easily engaging, it requires multiple listens to put a finger on the complex songwriting and structure.The band has recently been playing shows, working on new songs and have been in the studio for pre-production work on a new album. http://www.myspace.com/sleeperrock http://twitter.com/sleeperrock140 http://www.sleeperrock.com/ |
| By NEIL SHUMATE |
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