Mention nymphs, dwarves, dragons, witches, and magic spells to rock fans and they immediately smirk and conjure an image of the satirical band Spinal Tap– or something equally or far more geeky and unhip.
What if we told you that French prog metal band Anthropia has written an epic composition that is inhabited by blacksmith dwarves, mocking sprites, mercenary barbarians, a talking horse, a cunning succubus, and seaweed-intolerant dragons (among other creatures) in a cross-dimensional fictional plotline? Still chuckling? Well, stop, because the mastermind of Anthropia, Hugues Lefebvre (nickname Hugo), is reviving the rock fantasy genre and ups the ante with the explosive, multi-layered first installment of a planned trilogy -- The Ereyn Chronicles: Part I: The Journey of Beginnings, based on the writings of Quentin Borderie.
“I was not a huge fan of fantasy, but I was so truly captivated by Quentin’s story that I wrote music around it.” Hugo says.
Hugo realized that the only way to capture the many nuances of the story was to write and record three separate records to coincide with the exciting episodes that sprang from Borderie’s fertile mind. “With an in-depth story like this, we felt the best way to present the main events of the story was to separate them into three major parts,” Hugo says. “Basically, each song represents a chapter of Quentin’s novel.”
The CD Part I: The Journey of Beginnings, which buzzes with flashes of Iron Maiden’s gritty conceptual metal, Dave Mustaine/Megadeth lightning-speed riffing, Dream Theater’s sweeping storytelling, Yngwie Malmsteen’s neo-classical minor-scale mining, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway-era Genesis atmospherics, Kansas’ busy symphonic boogie-rock, classical guitar beauty and flair, and Rush’s dark ‘70s sci-fi/fantasy explorations.
Simply put, Anthropia’s classical-metal-prog hybrid enraptures the listener in a world of sound, vision, and imagination. In classic prog-rock long-suite fashion, The Journey of Beginnings opens with “Welcome to Ereyn” -- a visual-aural overture surveying the entire Ereyn epic. “I really am more of a classical guy than a metal guy,” Hugo admits. “I’m proud of the record: I don’t like filler tracks,” Hugo says. “I prefer a record that is 30 minutes with only five songs, than a 60 minute-CD with filler. Hopefully, I’ve put together a record that listeners will sit an listen to uninterrupted.”
Track listing
1. Welcome To Ereyn
2. Question Of Honour
3. Lords Of A World
4. The Edge
5. Through The Sleeping Seaweed
6. Forgotten
7. Lion-Snake
8. Where The Secrets Lie
9. The Walk Among The Ruins
10. In The Maze Of A Nightmare
11. The Desert Of Jewels
www.anthropia.org/
http://www.myspace.com/anthropia
