Post Description

Tracklist: One Eternal (Felicity's Song) (4:49), Conceived Fate (4:54), This Divine Tragedy (3:45), Angels in Despair (3:01), Shattered Passion (4:16), Cry For An Angel (4:01), If Only (4:09) 

The Phobos Corporation is the brainchild of Greek keyboard player Spyros Papadakis. He started to write songs in 1996 and released his first demo in 2005 called As the Angels Stared. This demo is also included with this debut EP. 'Phobos' is the Greek word for fear but the music on the EP is nothing to be afraid about as the four songs are very strong indeed. 

This is not a solo project by any means but a very international co-operation. Guitar and bass player Mark Jones is located in England while drummer Chris Sutherland lives in Canada. Sutherland toured Europe with Saga between 2007 and 2009 and is going to release a solo album this year featuring guest appearances by Michael Sadler and Spock's Beard's Dave Meros. The vocalist for this EP is 19 year old American singer Tara Louise who is part of Shelby, Tieg and Tara, a folk band that is described as a modern female Simon and Garfunkel. The orchestral arrangements on the EP were done by Jon Ong and Zach Lemmon who both come from Los Angeles. The U.K.'s Dave Chang is responsible for the mixing and mastering. 

The EP is released through Freia music, a Dutch record company which specialises in releasing progressive music. They also released the new album by Dutch proggers The Aurora Project so all in all we can say that this EP very much represents the way modern day musicians record and work together. There are no borders. 

Musically I think that Spyros Papadakis is very much in charge as the four tracks on this EP form a very coherent entity. The music is firmly rooted in the female fronted symphonic metal made popular by bands like Into Temptation, Epica and Nightwish. Now I must admit that this music is not my cup of tea but I am really impressed with the four songs that are on offer here. Despite an incredible wall of sound full of double bass drums, heavy guitars and big orchestra sounds (including choirs) the music still sounds very accessible and light even. Tara Louise is an incredible vocalist. Her voice is crystal clear and sounds like a ray of sunlight amidst the thundering dark sounds the band creates. 

Because of the orchestration the music contains classical influences that immediately become apparent in the opening track One Eternal (Felicity's Song). The guitar sound could have been a tad less shreddy (is that a word?) but the track contains strong melodies and very good chorus'. There is a really short trumpet solo in the middle of the track which is a very pleasant and well chosen surprise. The trumpet is real and was played by a session musician hired in by the studio in Los Angeles where the vocals were also recorded. Conceived Fate is another blistering rock track with a short and to the point guitar solo after an atmospheric choral part. These loud/soft variations keep this track and the other tracks interesting for me. This Divine Tragedy contains a short guitar solo by Shoi Sen from the band Deprofundis. 

The EP ends with a short atmospheric, classical sounding instrumental. Another thing about these tracks is that although there is a wall of sound, there is no unnecessary noodling which gives them a drive, accessibility and urgency I like. 

As a bonus you get the demo released in 2005 but, to be honest, it can't match the first four tracks. Especially the lead singer, who goes by the name of Dolly, can't match the quality of Tara Louise. 

If I were Freia Music I would cherish this band because I think that they have the quality to match a band like Within Temptation in the future and consider how popular they have become. I do not rate EP's but for all those out there who like female fronted Symphonic Metal bands (hey Brian!) this is one you should definitely check out. 

Bron: DPRP