Redemption - Snowfall on Judgement Day
InsideOut Music
Prog Metal
10 songs (70'26)
Release year: 2009
Redemption, InsideOut Music
Reviewed by Marty
Album of the month
Snowfall on Judgement Day is Redemption's 4th studio album and the follow-up to Origins of Ruin; an album that saw a much more melodic side to this L.A. based prog metal band than with previous albums. Fates Warning front man Ray Alder has settled in quite nicely as the lead vocalist; joining them for their second album Fullness of Time. In fact, Snowfall on Judgement Day sees Redemption taking a run at the biggies in the prog metal genre and in my opinion topples recent efforts by both Fates Warning and Dream Theater.

One thing evident throughout this album is the decidedly heavier edge to their sound over previous albums. Tracks like the album opener Peel and the following track Walls both provide a solid wall of crunchy riffs and solid keyboard layering which borders on thrash metal intensity on more than a couple of occasions. The sometimes dreamy yet often passionate vocal style of Ray Alder tops off the absolutely fantastic sound that Redemption delivers here with their new album. Seven-string guitar work by Nick van Dyk along with a very abstract Warrel Dane type of vocal delivery infuses Nevermore like qualities into tracks like Leviathan Rising and Fistful of Sand. Black and White World takes on more of a Marillion/Everon vibe with its stronger keyboard presence, soaring melodies and excellent harmonized keyboard/lead guitar work. Heavy, stuttering riffs and odd time signatures are the main ingredient of Unformed with more of a heavy power ballad style explored for Keep Breathing and What Will You Say. Keep Breathing mixes up tempos and has some fantastic guitar "orchestrations" whereas What Will You Say bursts with passion courtesy of a very Steve Walsh (Kansas) style of soaring vocal by Ray Alder. Dream Theater's James LaBrie makes an appearance on the track Another Day Dies; performing a duet with Ray. Driving in tempo with some crushing heavy interludes, the combination of both voices pushes this one into the stratosphere as far as powerful melody and passion. The album finishes with an absolute gem Love Kills Us All / Life In One Day, an extended track that has a dreamy Pink Floyd-ish intro before building in intensity and heaviness and boasts one of the best vocal performances on the album.

Ray Alder has never sounded better than on this album. The whole production is massive, crushingly heavy and with a killer guitar tone and huge drum sound that most bands would kill for. It's rare that an album so chocked full of huge head-banging riffs can also have so much melody and dynamics. Nick van Dyk, besides offering up some tasty riffs, shows that he can also shred with the best of them. He strikes a perfect balance with technical yet very melodic, harmonized lead guitar work. Although the album is rather long (over 70 minutes), there is nothing weak to be found here. Every track is strong and sees the band at their absolute best both in sound and in the song-writing department. Combine the best elements of Fates Warning's Parallels and mix in a little of Dream Theater's Images and Words and Awake and you get a pretty solid picture of just how this album sounds and also just how great it is. Easily the band's best yet, too bad I hadn't heard it a bit earlier as it would've been near the top of my best of for 2009.....a career defining moment for the band and one of the best prog metal releases of last year.

Killing Songs :
Peel, Walls, Unformed, Another Day Dies and Love Kills Us All/Life In One Day
Marty quoted 90 / 100
Other albums by Redemption that we have reviewed:
Redemption - The Origins Of Ruin reviewed by Ben and quoted 82 / 100
Redemption - The Fullness of Time reviewed by Ben and quoted 89 / 100
Redemption - Redemption reviewed by Ben and quoted 75 / 100
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