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REDEMPTION - "SNOWFALL ON JUDGMENT DAY"
by George Georgiou (song292@yahoo.gr)




Los Angeles progsters Redemption release their third full length album "Snowfall On Judgment Day", flowing in the stream of their increasing fame. Standing in a musical field that crosses every new second with a view to become more familiar and predictable, Redemption carry the heaviest and most exact weapons they can handle. Based on a deep production with separate corridors for the limits of their instruments, they end to an almost perfect balance so the ebbs and flows of their songs have a natural flow. Frontman Ray Alder (Fates Warning vocalist) finds new paths according to the age of his voice with no lack of the sentiment we were used to sniff from him. "Snowfall On Judgment Day" is a technical journey of songs dealing with personal relationships, inner dilemmas and emotional struggles, and Alder's voice knows all these familiar steps to turn the final result into a sentimental footprint strong enough to last for long.
Tracks like "Black and white world" and "Love kills us all/Life in one day" build that kind of epic emotion larger than life, that kind of cinematic impression that finally pushes you to chase the best out of life. James La Brie on guest vocals in "Another day dies" adds another valuable card for every devoted prog-fan or DreamTheater follower but the song mostly melts into indifference. Redemption's skill for catchy tunes shines impressively in tracks like "Walls" or "Peel" when every single trick of technical orchestration gently obeys to the purpose of melody itself... And this is in fact the bridge between Redemption's two basic influences, the detailed, mechanical orgasm of DreamTheater's playing and the melancholic weight of memories from mates Fates Warning soundscapes.
So, here they are, placed in the limited area of ourdays choices and it looks like they have almost made up their minds to give their own survival fight having all the necessary accessories of modern extreme exact playing but above all the importance of melody itself. Only time will tell if they will gain fame and commercial success like top sellers DreamTheater or stand just respected in their own private circle like gigantic Fates Warning...