Sons of Seasons is one of the latest births into the ever-expanding German symphonic/power/prog metal scene. Starting out in 2007 as something you might call a weaker super-group including lesser known members from both Kamelot and Brainstorm , the guys should have enough perquisites to make a name for themselves pretty quick. God's of Vermin is their first release, and none other than Napalm Records snatched the rights to this one, which is alone something that should be a proof of quality. The promotional slipcase says Dark Symphonic Metal, which can be very interesting when done properly. Considering that this band possesses the man behind the mighty and powerful compositions of Kamelot's Ghost Opera, the orchestral arrangements should not be of any concern. However, the fact that the same guy is responsible for the guitar-work can leave a small amount of scepticism.

From the first glance upon the cover art, the name, the title and not the least the genre tag; it is obvious that this is bound to be very theatrical and dramatic from the first moment on. The album starts out with a mellow piano piece, that is as unnecessary as any other intro you can imagine before everything really starts of with the title-track. This is indeed a little harder and heavier than I first expected and does indeed live up to it's tag. The Kamelot-influence is unavoidable, as it is ultimately the first band that strikes me when Basse's emotional vocals glides in. His softer singing is nearly a carbon copy of Roy Khan's brilliant voice, and the classical arrangements and riffs turns this into a song that could easily fit on one of 's earlier albums. This can probably be repeated for each and every song on here, and a possible conclusion could be a clash between the darker sides of Symphony X with some elements of Epica, considering the vast amount of female vocals here conducted by no other than Simone Simmons. The end result would be a weaker version of the three, but still a very decent offer that any die-hard fan of the genre will eat up and enjoy to the max.

There are a few stand-out tracks here like the title-tack and the ever-changing Wheels of Guilt. These songs, and the other ones that stick out consists of progressive lineaments that makes them interesting and fun to listen through. The major issue however, is that they struggle to make this varied enough, as it seems very repetitive at times, and really struggle to get out of an seemingly never-ending loop of recycled riffs, orchestrations, moods and melodies. However, the highlights here shows signs of a band that is on the rise, and that something really is in the works behind the curtain. Overall it consists of solid riffs, inconsistent but good orchestrations, very good vocal work, sometimes great melodies from both the keyboards and the man behind the mic, as well as a cool lead once in a while. It never really catches fire though, and is far from going on a neck-snapping frenzy, but it's a decent if not a very good album that any power/prog head should check out. Recommended even though it's a tad bit long and not the best of the year. Still pretty enjoyable though. Check it out