ALBUM REVIEW: A-Z – A-Z

Considering the history of some of its band members, it is of no surprise at all that A-Z have a highly melodic, at times progressive take on AOR, with Ray Alder and Mark Zonder – most notably both being important members of FATES WARNING over their storied careers – being 40% of the line up of this new act. While the ensemble may be new in terms of being an entity in itself, their vast experience and demand for production values shine through in this rather enjoyable debut. Alder has always had a sumptuous voice and it’s a testament to him that he has lost none of this vocal talent across his career, with his soaring vocals being an essential part of this release. His timbre resonates exquisitely along with the highly melodic guitar and synth tones. Bringing in Vivien Lalu on keys seems to have been a masterstroke in itself, with his skill as a composer in his own right – as well being the son of two members of POLENE – as well as his own progressive metal act LALU meaning he is clearly well versed in what Alder and company were looking for.

The production values are as exquisite as you would expect from FATES WARNING themselves, with high attention to detail across the release. There is even enough drop-off in the quieter moments of the record that the most delicate aspects of the music can even take centre stage themselves, leading to an almost dreamy feel of being pulled along by the music on a rollercoaster trip in a comforting head fog of soundscapes surrounding you.

In terms of the songs themselves, it would be fair to compare them to the likes of QUEENSRYCHE, in that darker, highly progressively-charged AOR sound that separated them from a lot of their contemporaries. A few listens will be needed to properly appreciate the depth of some of the writing, as it is far too easy to get sucked into Alder‘s vocals, the guitar lines, or the keys in fairly equal measure, to the point you almost lose track of what else is happening in the song.

This is an excellent release on its own merit, with the heady weight of some top-quality releases between them all over the duration of their careers. Indeed, it almost feels like this is standard fare for the gentlemen involved in it, but when they have consistently set the bar so high for themselves in the past, their version of standard is not on a par with a lot of other artists who are releasing music, but several rungs above. A fantastic release that shows a high degree of promise in its debut showing – it will be interesting to hear how the follow-up to this pans out.

Rating: 8/10

A-Z is out now via Metal Blade Records.

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