Reviews from "Solaris"
Solaris is the fifth album from Swiss band Distant Past, coming three years after their last release entitled The Final Stage.
Classic heavy metal doesn't have to sound outdated if you know how to give it an imaginative approach. That's what Distant Past do. Using the most traditional parameters of the style, they are able to create attractive structures, from songs that have a facet composed of simple and accessible elements to others in which they venture into more complex terrains to reach the frontiers of progressive. All of this is supported by a clear production mixed and mastered by V.O. Pulver.
In the more direct and easy to assimilate compositions, with recurrent rhythms, powerful riffs, effective solos and intense high register vocals, we have ‘No Way Out’, ‘Warriors Of The Wasteland “ with an attractive guitar lick, also present in ”Sacrifice “ sharing space with harmonies and another appealing solo development, the catchy ”Speed Dealer “ and ”Fire & Ice’, as well as the accelerated ‘Realm Of The Gods’.
While in the more daring side with variety in its dynamics we find, "Rise Above Fear ’ and its captivating guitar game between licks, harmonies and riffs as well as an incisive bass, cymbals and another brilliant riff; the at times dark and guitar-driven ‘Island Of The Lost Souls’, where Remo shows that he not only knows how to keep the rhythm consistently, but is also capable of a versatile punch, as in ‘Fugitive Of Tomorrow’, another example where all the instrumentation flows in harmony and occupies its precise place.
Finally, ‘The Watchers’, with its slow start, consensual vocals, dynamic changes and a good proportion of complex guitars, shows itself as a composition with progressive connotations.
An album that reveals the maturity of the Swiss band and the ability of its members to demonstrate their ability to be accessible and hard-working at the same time.
RATING: 8/10