• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

I heard rapturous things about this debut album by rookie Canadian band Noor. With an odd name and an even odder album title, I was not sure what I was going to get from this. I saw a couple of reviews that called this a "masterpiece" and, while I am not on board with that assessment, this is a very strong debut.

Noor play percussive, complex metal that sits between USPM and Euro prog, with detailed songwriting that has a lot of twists and turns. The playing is sharp but not all that showy—okay, a little showy—and the musicianship is all good. Singer/lead guitarist Thomas Karam has a versatile voice, but he often seems far more interested in showing off complicated melodies than in creating hooks. The songs are opulent, sprawling works, but they don't really have enough identity or memorable bits to make them stand out. This is a highly polished and enjoyable Prog Metal album in the vein of bands like Circus Maximus, Evergrey, or Manticora, and fans of the style will eat this up, but I always want a bit more directness and cohesion in my prog than Noor have on offer. An impressive debut even if it's not a masterwork.