Genre: Melodic Rock,Progressive Metal

Released by: Inner Wound Recordings

Release date: February 24th, 2016

Line up:
Nick Grey: Bass
Kostas Milonas: Drums
Gus Drax: Guitars
Vasilis Georgiou: Vocals

Track List:

1. Out of the World
2. Dementia
3. Symbol of Life
4. Reincarnation
5. Lullaby
6. End of the Game
7. Beyond the Darkest Sun
8. Forevermore
9. Break the Core
10. Remedy of My Heart

Is there ever such a thing as too many melodic progressive metal bands in the world…?

Sunburst Fragments Framed

Probably for people that hate the genre the answer would be yes- one band of that style is too much for the haters. For me, as long as the bands keep pushing the boundaries and releasing music that isn’t derivative and mundane, the answer is a resounding yes! As a lover of melodic music and progressive music the combination of the two is, as should be no surprise, some of my favorite. Bands like Dream Theater, Pagan’s Mind, and Conception are bands that have found their way many times into my player, some for more years than others. Even though the album I’m about to talk about has been out since February, it is regrettably one that nearly slipped through the cracks and deserves to be acknowledged.

The band is called Sunburst, coming at us from Greece and earlier this year unleashed their debut album Fragments of Creation. I’m sure eventually I would’ve ended up finding out about this band, but it may not have been for some time. As soon as the album started it gave me this sensation that I was about to hear some pretty incredible music, and that feeling was dead on. The instrumentation alone would be enough for me to dig this album, as each performer have top level skills, like the stunning guitar work of Gus Drax, orchestrating these monster riffs and blazing solos, accentuated by the bass of Nick Grey and driven home by the power of drummer Kostas Milonas. Weaving throughout is the voice of Vasilis Georgiou whose control and power is outstanding adding an extra layer of melodic style that is already present within the songs, even when delivered in a frenetic, progressive way. The ability to go from a full force assault like “Dementia” to the chilling “Lullaby” the band are comfortable at any dynamic.

Sunburst’s Fragments of Creation is an album that fans of melodic progressive metal must have. Fans of Dream Theater, Pagan’s Mind, Kamelot, and the like will adore this album. This is truly an amazing record, especially for a debut. Granted, the members have been in other bands for a bit, but to come together this early on as a unit and deliver such a brilliant debut, that’s saying something.

Reviewer: Chris Martin