In my humble opinion, there have been few bands over the history of Metal that have truly been able to find that perfect marriage of Power and Progressive Metal, but many have tried. Bands like Angra, Evergrey and, on earlier albums, Labyrinth have been successful at achieving this, there have of course been others but hopefully you catch my drift. With that being said, Alkemyst has been able to capture what few before them could, a perfect union combining elements of both Power and Progressive metal with their latest and second release, Through Painful Lanes.

From beginning to end Alkemyst does an great job of avoiding the typical clichés that usually surround Progressive/Power Metal acts. Even though the songs are upbeat they are not over ridden with double base drums. Also the keyboards are not over used and abused and when they are used they are tastefully presented. Ramon Messina (Secret Sphere, Hemishpere) has an amazing and emotional voice and uses it on every song to its fullest potential.

The Beast Within opens up the album with its fast paced riffs and the amazing drum work of Arnaud Gorbaty. The refrain around the 3:30 mark has an obvious Blind Guardian feel to it. Like most of the album the lyrics of this song have a darker feel then what is normal in this genre. Another You leans more towards straightforward Progressive Metal then the other songs on the album, with its time changes and song structure. When The Morning Comes is one of my favorite songs on the album, resembling a mid-paced Labyrinth mixed with a touch of Triumph. Enter The Carnival picks up the pace being more of a straightforward Power Metal song with slight touches of Symphonic Metal. The album finishes with a well done but unnecessary cover of Helloween’s Eagle Fly Free. It is a very good rendition which pays respectful tribute to one of their strong influences. I personally would have rather had another original track since Alkemyst obviously knows how to write awesome songs.

It is not often that an album comes along like Through Painful Lanes. Every aspect of the album is phenomenal, from its crystal clear production to the amazing guitar work of Severin Bonneville and Arnaud Menard, from the incredible song structures to the amazing vocals of Messina, this album should be an instant classic. I would highly recommend this not only to all fans of the genre and Heavy Metal but to all fans of music, in general.

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