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Fractures is the third album from the U.K.'s Dakesis and on it the band shows a lot of maturation to their sound. It is an album of tight riffs, powerful melodies and soulful vocals presented with a spotless production. Symphonic metal demands a lot of these things and more and Dakesis hit them all. Fractures has grand lyrical themes ("Ends of Time Part 1 & Part 2"), anthemic fist-pumping ("Overthrown"), double-kick drums that get the pulse racing ("Kairos") and, naturally, a ballad ("Legacy in Memory") with every cut a winner. There's not a bad song on the album, which ends with the best one of all, the fifteen-minute title track. When songs start getting this long, especially by a band that adds a bit of prog to the mix, they often collapse under their own weight but not so with "Fractures". It is engaging throughout and features the album's catchiest chorus despite it being only one word. If there's a niggle with Fractures, it would be that it isn't as hooky as it could be but that doesn't change the fact that it is a solidly entertaining album of proggy symphonic power metal.