Avian
From the Depths of Time
by Dan the Man
Genre: Progressive metal
For fans of Megadeth, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Iron Maiden, and Metallica.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Inspired by a 2002 prog-metal festival, guitarist Yan Leviathan decided that he wanted to create a band of a similar style. An Arizona studio owner passed Leviathan's name on to former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, who listened to a demo and decided he wanted to work with Leviathan's project. The new band recorded once every few weeks for awhile before adding vocalist Lance King of Pyramaze and later Pyramaze keyboardist Jonah Weingarten. Still, something was missing. The missing piece of the puzzle turned out to be guitarist Robert Moore, who would solo for the band. The band's debut album, From the Depths of Time, released in 2005.
MUSICALLY: "Through the Past and Forever", a 43-second album introduction, is a teaser which only hints at the musical mayhem that is soon to follow. The first real song, "As the World Burns", is a straightforward metal song with dramatic vocals in the style of Russel Allen (Symphony X). It's not as much of a musical showcase as some of the other songs on the album, such as "The Fear". "The Fear" features a very cool sound effects intro, followed by a fast and catchy bass line that comes up throughout the rest of the song. The rest of the track has very strong drumming. One of the band's showcase members is Moore, and one of the tracks that best does his guitar soloing justice is "Single Blade of Vengeance", which also features darker and grittier vocals. Simply put, this man can shred. His guitar solos are worth the price of admission alone. However, his best moment is the short "Across the Millions". The best way for me to describe it is that it is what Van Halen's "Eruption" might sound like if it were to take place in space. The guitar riffs on "Time and Space Part 1" remind me of Metallica, which is appropriate considering that a former Megadeth member is in this band. Indeed, Megadeth/Metallica influences can be faintly heard throughout the album. Some of the tracks seem not to have as clear of a focus or direction (such as "Final Frontier"), but none of the tracks actually come across as dull, a problem that all prog fans are familiar with.
VOCALLY/LYRICALLY: Lance King's voice is strong and expressive. I've already mentioned "As the World Burns" as an example of his style, but another example is the 6:08 near-epic "Queen of the Insane", which was one of the band's first recorded songs. King's vocals on the chorus of this song remind me of Ancient Egypt, and the effects done to his voice at the end of the song are very interesting. Vocally, most of these songs deal with doom and destruction, in many cases, the end of the world as put forth by the Bible. Although it is not clear whether Avian is a Christian band (this has been debated online, despite the fact that King and Weingarten are in Pyramaze, a Christian band), the lyrics contain specific references to end-time theology, such as "The final bell begins to chime, all the sinners stand in line" (City of Peace). They are a sobering reminder of events to come for Christians, and anybody else who is listening. There isn't much in the way of "positive" Christian theology (i.e. it tells you what's wrong but not how to seek what's right), and frankly, I think that some of the lyrics on "Time Is All You Need" are downright misleading if viewed from a Christian perspective. Time does not cure your sins, only Jesus
does.
If you're looking for bone-shattering prog metal with a wide variety of instrumental focuses, soloing, thick texture, and wicked atmospheres, you've found the right album. If you're looking for positive Christian theology, you won't find it in this album. However, the album is still well worth a listen because of the musical ideas that it brings forth. There isn't much harmful in the way of lyrics (with the earlier noted exception), so I would advise approaching this album as more of a Christian-influenced album than a Christian album. I pass the album on with 4.5 stars out of 5.
"As the World Burns"
The road to hell lies dead ahead
It's too late now; we've been misled
The storm approaches from the west now
"Blinding Force"
Earth is quaking, hearts are breaking as the demons start to rise
Mothers grieving, children screaming, no escaping our demise
Still believing, hope is fleeting as we look for answers in the skies
"Time is All We Need"
Time is all we need to get us through The Fear
Lives and destiny falling through eternity
Days turn into weeks, disappearing into years
Time is all we need to wash away our sins