Iris Divine is a new modern progressive rock/metal band, whose disc, Karma Sown, has been listened to by me every day for the last two weeks. While some may say that their sound, sounds dates, or it has been done before, has not listened to them carefully enough. I hear elements of bands like Fates Warning(post-A Pleasant Shades Of Grey) . Hailing from the east coast of the USA and signed to progressive rock/metal label Sensory Records, Iris Divine is here, and their label debut is one to catch any progressive rock/metal lover's attention. With the solid technical grooves of The Everlasting Sea, the vocal range and tones(eastern at times) of singer/guitarist Navid Rashid, this is a quick musical introduction of what to expect from Iris Divine. The groove oriented riffs continue with Fire Of The Unknown, albeit slower in the verses, and more straight ahead in the chorus. The latter third of the song, speeds things up a bit, with more aggressive guitar riffs, some technical flourishes, followed by a solid but brief guitar solo. A Suicide Aware is my favorite track on the disc, hands down. Also should be checked out HERE.
Mother's Prayer and Prisms(second favorite track on the disc) are both very groove oritented and melodic all at the same time, and hold the middle of the disc up well. The latter has a great instrumental section much like the previous mentioned A Suicide Aware. The slow, grinding riff of In Spirals, moves into some nice lead tremolo guitar playing, before moving into the next instrumental section of the song. As far as instrumentals go, it may not be the most technical thing this side of Dream Theater, but who cares, it is well played and the band definitely knows their identity musically. The three members of the member, the previous mentioned Rashid, along with his band members Brian Dobbs and Kris Combs, bass and drums/keyboards respectively, definitely feed off one another and show how synced the band is with one another. The very cool titled, Apathy Rains is a darker and more melodic song, that initially is less groove oriented than the songs before it. Rashid shows his range and the ability to express emotion in his vocals all at the same time. In The Wake Of Matyrs is the longest track on the disc, at a second just under eight minutes. There are some really great bass playing lines from Dobbs if you listen carefully. The added strings, which were heard earlier on the disc, definitely gives the song a more epic feel. Not long after that, it is back to Iris Divine business as usual, with a heavy but groove oriented riff. There is even a “growl” like vocal not heard anywhere on the disc. While this song may have some of the heaviest points of anywhere on the disc, it definitely has what was heard the previous forty plus minutes. Solid musicianship, great vocals sung with emotion, and songwriting that is cohesive in which every part, instrument, fits where its supposet to go.

I know I give high praise, to a rather unknown band, but it is a band that if you enjoy this kind of music, that rightly so, deserves your attention. If your not a fan of melody or technical musicianship, or the bands I mentioned earlier, this may not change your mind. Definitely for the open minded lover of modern progressive rock/metal. If we had a category here on MetalReviews known as the Surprise Of The Year, this one would definitely be one for me so far.