Australian progressive metal bands are pretty thick on the ground at the moment, and though it may be rare to find one with an avowed Christian philosophy among them, on this evidence it’s a combination that works well.
This Melbourne/Geelong band are clearly superb musicians, but the uber-shred attitude beloved of so many occupants of this particular subgenre is not for them: they approach the music from a two-pronged base of melody and contemplative lyrical content.While the songs gain great depth from the faith-based writing process, they’re subtle and thought-provoking in their message. The way the songs are constructed from the melody up gives this album the depth and resonance of major works in this genre, such as Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime or Dream Theater’s Scenes From A Memory. There’s brutal power when needed, as on the title track or For The Innocent, while elsewhere, the 13-minute opener An Ordinary Dream and the closing one-two of Broken and Delusions Of Grandeur truly scale epic peaks. The more you listen, the more certain you become that Her Halo is one of the finest prog metal releases of recent years. Exceptional.
