APEX ORIGIN
APEX ORIGIN - “Beyond a Lifetime”
By Dark Starr
This band hails from France. They play a type of music that combines heavy metal, hard rock, prog and more. Call this what you like, it's an interesting album that is tracked like a rock opera. These guys are talented and manage to create a varied soundscape that generally works well. The album is organized very much like an opera.
This leads off with what they call "Ouverture." It's made up of one track titled, "Titanik." Sound effects create a sea scene that gets it underway. Then keyboards rise up to paint melody and drama. Eventually metallic, rocking sounds take control, but they are still tempered by those keyboards. The piece is decidedly progressive metal as it drives forward. It has a real melodic prog meets metal vibe in place. It turns into some driving metallic zones later. It is a real powerhouse.
From there, they take us into "Act I." That part is made up of two pieces. The first is "Blue Dream." Again effects lead things out on that number, but it fires out into more of a direct metal approach as soon as that's over. It is very heavy, energetic and crunchy. "La Haine Reine II" is the other half of the first act. There are some sounds that are basically like something from a movie at the beginning of it, Keyboards join, and the vocals come in over that backdrop. The song is meaty, but also melodic. It does a good job of merging the metal and prog concepts. The lyrics to it are in French, I think. There is some mean riffing built into it along with some screamed metallic vocals. We get some sounds at the end of this like a club crowd applauding.
"Act II" is just one piece, titled "Blue Zep." It is a blues jam. I think it sounds like a merging of LED ZEPPELIN with JOE BONAMASSA. I wouldn't really call it metal, but more hard rock. That said, it does have some metallic angles. It also has some smoking hot blues guitar soloing later.
Similarly "Act III" is made up of just one song, "Titanik Part III." Coming in with keyboards it is another proggy tune. It gets into some seriously heavy and crazed metal zones, too, though. After working through some cool changes, it drops to a melodic movement for the entrance of the vocals. It keeps evolving from there. There are a number of different modes and sections here. It definitely walks a line between progressive rock, heavy metal and hard rock.
"Act IV" is made up of three songs. "Surfing with the Devil" is the first of those. Killer riffing opens it with a decidedly metal sound. It gets almost punky after a stop. It is another face on the sound of this group. It's definitely a mainstream metal tune in a lot of ways, but there are some unusual twists at points. There is a cool proggy instrumental break later that gives way to a guitar solo. "Reverse" continues the act, and while it has a lot of straightforward rock in the mix (think VAN HALEN), it also has plenty of metallic edge. The final piece of "Act IV" is "Non-Stop." It comes in with a fast-paced proggy sound. It quickly shifts to riff driven metal. It is mean, fiery and so cool. While it is less artsy than some of the rest of the music here, it's a killer track that is one of my favorites of the album. There are still some proggy moments on the cut, in some intriguing excursions. It even turns toward funky fusion at one point.
"Act V" consists of two songs. "CMA" gets it started, and there are sound effects as it begins, including someone flat lining and the heartbroken reaction of someone else. A melodic, balladic approach brings it in from there. It works out to more of a proggy sound for a powered up movement. It drops to something between those two parts to continue. The act closes with "EVA" It is a powerful balladic cut that has both prog and metal concepts at play. It's packed full of power and emotion. There is a piano solo section mid-track that really reinforces that prog angle.
The "Final" section is made up by one piece, "Titanik Part II." Keyboards bring it in, almost feeling like we're in a club. It gets some guitar after a time bringing more of a rock angle to the piece. It gets into some prog metal zones, but also has more straight-ahead stuff. There is some killer guitar soloing in the tune, and also some intriguing changes. It drops to some effects after a crescendo near the end. Then some keys rise up for a few moments before sounds of the sea return to end it.