WARNING: If you hate music with any sort of melody, or anything with a melodic nature, this may not be for you! If you enjoy a modern take on progressive metal, with an open mind, please enjoy!

Here we have Ontario, Canada's Mandroid Echostar(Can't say I have ever heard of one of those!), they play a blend of modern progressive metal with other rock influences. Similarities to bands like Coheed and Cambria will come to mind when you listen to vocalist Michael Ciccia, higher range. Musically they are heavier, and a bit more technical in my opinion. Citadel is their latest EP, and what you have here is 7 songs that are different from each other, yet establishes the bands identity.

The acoustic A Death Marked Dream opens the disc up. This is a very unique way to start, and its a very brief but nice song. The second song Ancient Arrows opens with clean guitar, that leads into a very cool twin guitar solo(Iron Maiden would be proud!) with some very cool sweep picking at the end of it. Mandroid Echostar play more than just your simple straight ahead guitar playing. With various tempo changes, heaviness, and melodies, Ancient Arrows takes you on a whirlwind ride in just under five minutes. Haunted Vows opens with a wah infused guitar solo. Like the song before it, it features technical musicianship, and gains some gang vocals in parts. To The Wolves, reminds me a little of Coheed and Cambria's song The Suffering in the opening verse. The vocal melody, and the palm muted guitar riffs. For the most diehard metal fan, you will enjoy all the crazy guitar playing, the vocals on the chorus, may not be for you. I actually think while the similarities are there, the band has their own sound.

While I hate using this word, the opening of the The Sleeper has a "Djent" like opening riff, something similar to Periphery. The rest of the song, is very similar to the songs before it, and that is not a bad thing. I am glad this band does not get caught in any genre-trapping, they keep their vision consistent. Ethereal Dawn, opens with drums and bass, with the first notes of clean guitar coming in around the thirty second mark. Finally the heavier guitars join at the minute and and forty seconds, and not long afterward we are greeted with a twin guitar solo, followed by a syncopated rhythm from the band. The title track is the last song, on the disc and the longest at just over six minutes and 15 seconds. Not much else can be said, but give this song a listen, and if you can hear any song off the disc, this is one of my favorites. Check out all the songs by searching for the band on Bandcamp, all songs are available for preview and download.

Madroid Echostar, like their name, offer a unique genre-defying mix of melody, heaviness, and high quality musicianship that includes three guitarist that fans of various kinds of rock music should enjoy. Some may call the vocals pop-like, and honestly they may be higher pitch than most, but it gives this band their unique sound.
The Band is:
Stephen Richards-Guitar
Sam Pattison-Guitar
Michael Ciccia-Vocals
James Krul-Guitar/Vocals
Matt H-K-Drums
Adam Richards-Bass