Members: Hugues Lefebvre, Damien Rainaud
CD enhanced with bonus video: “The Chronicle Of The Chronicles”
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.
The CD you are listening to 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.”
THE EREYN CHRONICLES-PART I
Catalog # MA-9087-2
Buy Directly from Magna Carta $15.98 [shipping/handling included]
Download The Album Now Release Date: August 1, 2006
1. Welcome To Ereyn
2. Question Of Honor
3. Lords Of A World
4. Through The Sleeping Seaweed
5. Forgotten
6. Lion-Snake
7. Where The Secrets Lie
8. The Walk Among The Ruins
9. In The Maze Of A Nightmare
10. The Desert Of Jewels