Band : Harmony
Album title : Chapter II: Aftermath
Label : Ulterium – Metal Heaven
Distributor : Rough Trade
Release date : 31/10/2008
Release : CD

Boräs (Sweden) based Harmony was founded in 2000 by drummer Tobias Enberg and guitarist Markus Sigfridsson, who soon ensured themselves the services of singer Henrik Bäth to record a 2001 demo.

Besides getting rave reviews, it also brought the band a deal with German label Massacre, who issued the band's debut album Dreaming Awake in 2003. By the time of recording that album in 2002, the line-up had grown to include keyboardist Magnus Holmberg and bassist Andreas Olsson. Live work in support of the album was restricted to Sweden mainly, with a few visits to Norway and Finland to boost. Meanwhile things were apparently less than harmonious in the Harmony camp, as later in 2003 Bäth, Sigfirdsson, Holmberg and Enberg would start up the more Progressively geared Darkwater with bassist Karl Wassholm. In this constellation a sparce amount of gigs are played all over the homeland, time during which the band was fine-tuning their material for the recording (eventually done during 2006 and 2007 in several studios of West Sweden to achieve top quality, with a final mix by Peter Saether – see also A.C.T. and Skyfire, amongst others) of their debut album Calling The Earth To Witness, released late August of last year on the Ulterium label...which brings us to familiar territory, now doesn't it?

Back to Harmony, and the year 2005, when the remaining quartet starts work on a new album, again opting to use several studios. That same year Sigfridsson starts a new outfit named 7 Days with former Candlemass singer Thomas Vikström, DivineFire bassist Andreas Olsson (remember him?), and Mind's Eye drummer Daniel Flores. The guitarist also produced Hero's debut album. To replace their bass player, Harmony hired the help of former Pain Of Salvation & current Dial man Kristoffer Gildenlöw, who delivered his usual impressive bass thumpin!

A 5-track EP titled End Of My Road (including a edited version of the EP's title track plus two other songs from the album and two previously unreleased ones) was already issued through Ulterium on August 11, giving Swedish fans of the Christian (at times the band's faith comes through in the lyrics, but the musical accompaniment is such energetic order that non-believers will not care about the content of the words) Metal act a preview on the album's material first! As for the material on the album itself, it's simply a must-have for fans of bombastic, slightly progressive and Neo-Classical modern Metal with a very nice and powerful high-pitched singer. As the biography mentions (a statement to which I agree whole-heartedly), the possible fan is to imagine a great mix of Yngwie Malmsteen, Kamelot, and Nocturnal Rites. If that description doesn't give you a clear enough picture, all you need to do to have a sneak preview at the band's music is to surf to myspace.com/harmonyofficial, where you'll not only be able to listen to samples of "Prevail" (album opener) and "Inner Peace" plus full-length versions of "Rain" and album closer "End Of My Road", but also to two songs off the debut album (which, by the way, is being re-issued through Ulterium at the same time as this new album).

Meanwhile, Ulterium has inked a deal with US label Nightmare Records for the distribution of Chapter II: Aftermath in North America starting November 25 (which happens to be my birthday)...and the album was thrown into the cosy pile that is my "Best Albums Of 2008"-list by now!

98/100

Tony.