Independent (2008)

The Northeast changing seasons drives a potent music scene - brought to life with a diverse population as well as some of the best music colleges in the nation. Storms Approach hail from Massachusetts and are a progressive metal quintet delivering an emotional blend of airy siren melodies out of Anne Heffernan along with a diverse mix of acoustic prog rock and jazz-like metal movements from her compatriots (lead guitarist Eric Clemenzi, rhythm guitarist Scott Randall, bassist/ main songwriter Steve Belleville and drummer Chris Munroe).

Porcupine Tree, middle era Fates Warning and early Dream Theater come to mind when hearing tracks like "Hidden Away", "Again" and "A Scandal In Bohemia". The songs are compact for a progressive oriented group, with none of the eight tracks hitting beyond 4 and a half minutes- keeping the arrangements fresh and invigorating with energy. The lead solo playing from Eric Clemenzi combines strong theory sweeps as well as tapping and heroics that recall a lot of the Allan Holdsworth and Joe Satriani efforts (especially on the instrumental "Misnomer"). Decent sounding for a self-produced recording, I do hope that in the future Storms Approach will venture into an epic song or two because they definitely have the ability and versatility in their songbook to execute such a track, they sway me emotionally throughout the entire disc. Anne’s voice comes from more of a gothic background, she certainly can hit the high notes when required but prefers to capture your attention with a passionate, familiar charm.

Plus, they gain my respect for penning a song about one of the first detectives in history, the ace Sherlock Holmes. Worth seeking if you need more forward thinking metal in your life.

www.myspace.com/stormsapproach

Composed by Matt Coe