Year: 2013
Italy is not a country known to many in terms of metal music. Very few bands come out of Italy but each of them is so power packed that nothing can raise a finger at them and point out that they're doing this part wrong or anything regarding their music. Neptune is just a perfect example of that. Getting influenced from Swedish bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquility, the band changed their sound from death metal to melodic-death metal with time. And after a gap of 5 years they released their 2nd album 'Prelude To Nothing' in December 2013.
After creating an underground chaos in 2008 with 'Acts Of Supremacy', the band decided to release 'Prelude To Nothing' which is just an evolved version of previous album. It's not everyday that you find a band like Neptune which breaks the boundaries of their genre and still be within it. It's a band where its "Love in first listen".
Album starts with a soft acoustic intro 'Into The Organic Age'. Many bands use this intro to give a slight idea of what lies ahead in the album, which is not the case with Neptune. The moment song goes from 'Into The Organic Age' to 'Of Courage And Honor' the whole sound changes and they come to their melo-death roots. So the intro is like serving soup before the main meal to a 3-day hungry man. Though he'll go crazy the second he gets the main meal but it wouldn't have been tasty without the starter.
Though there is no doubt about the quality of production but I found the albums restricted in terms of mastering and mixing, as I felt that mixing was done in a way that band was intended to sound in particular way, which for me ruined the album. This is not the band's full potential, this would have been awesome if mixers kept the original sound of the band. There are groovy parts in the melodic-death metal base which makes the sound unique. This can be heard in 'Renaissance', 'Drifting', 'Rampage Of Vengeance' and few more. Guitar solos are not as epic as compared to their music.
Now to explain how the album was restricted in a certain way. On listening the album thoroughly after 5-6 times I felt as the band was made to create this sound. If you imagine same song on stage, it will be totally different level of epicness (Yes, I did create such environment at home). On record, Neptune sounds little boring but they would be million times better on stage as there will be no restrictions at all. It will be all upon artist to get those crazy mosh-pits going and I'll bet it will be a unique experience.
Putting it simply, band, production and album are awesome. Mastering and mixing reduced the energy of the album. But definitely an artist you can't miss seeing live.
Preferred tracks: Renaissance, Last Silent Riot, In Collision, The Healthy Downgrave.
Rating: 70%
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