Tellus Requiem-Invictus (The 11th Hour)

Nightmare Records
2013


Tellus Requiem (which means "The earths death mass." Tellus being Latin for The Earth, Requiem being the last composition a composer writes before they died) are a Norwegian band that was formed in 2007 by guitarist Stig Nergård. "Invictus (The 11th Hour)", which is due out on January 22nd, is the follow-up to the band's 2010 self-titled debut album digitally. It is also a album that shouldn't be called just progressive metal as the reality is this sophomore release from Tellus Requiem is almost impossible to properly describe. After listening to this one all the way through it's telling that the band is influenced by film scores and classical contemporary music. The music is technical at times (diverse bands such as Dream Theater, ELO, Cynic and Atheist all come to mind) and then it's also heavy like Opeth (only with clean vocals of the European power metal variety courtesy of Ben Rodgers). It has these weird electronic elements and flashy synthesizers from keyboardist Anders Sundb. That is in addition to his epic keyboard moments that add all these different layers to the music in question. Meanwhile Stig Nergård seems to have graduated with honors from the Megadeth school of technical guitar playing. Then again his playing is also on par with some of the better technical aspects of later day Death. Other bands that creep into the overall music here include Pain Of Salvation and Symphony X. And the rest of the band? I shouldn't forget to mention Vidar Lehmann (drums) and Ivar Hagen Be (bass) as they are both spectacular in their playing and add the perfect backdrop against which the the rest of this young and talented Norwegian act can paint the many colors of  "Invictus (The 11th Hour)". So, as you can see just calling the band's 10-track album merely "progressive metal" doesn't seem fair. It's so much more....