Tomorrow’s Eve – Mirror of Creation III – Project Ikaros

In the 90s and early 2000s, there have been quite a few good melodic prog metal bands coming out of Germany. Most of them, like Atmosfear, Poverty’s No Crime, Superior, Ivanhoe or Lanfear never made it past a small, but dedicated underground following. Only Vanden Plas managed to make it with their unique genre bending approach, incorporating their ‘day job music’ in the form of musicals into their sonic pallette – and vice versa bringing prog metal into the world of musicals. Another band that didn’t make the cut were fellow Kaiserslautern boys of Tomorrow’s Eve. After a couple of albums that were highly acclaimed in the underground prog metal scene, they simply seemed to vanish after 2008’s “Tales from Serpentia”. But now, ten years later, they are back. And they are back with a bang!

Tomorrow’s Eve – Welcome to the Show (click here if the video above does not play)

This time, the core trio of vocalist Martin LeMar (Mekong Delta, ex-Nachtgeschrei), Rainer Grund on guitars and Oliver Schwickert on keyboards sought prominent help in an amazing rhythm section comprised of Mike Lepond of Symphony X fame and drum legend John Macaluso, who played for Yngwie Malmsteen and Ark before, to name but a few. Their brand new album is entitled “Mirror of Creation III – Project Ikaros” and thus obviously continues the dystopian concept story of “Mirror of Creation” (2003) and “Mirror of Creation 2 – Genesis II” (2006). But how did they fare musically, is “Mirror of Creation III – Project Ikaros” a worthy successor to the flawless masterpiece that was “Mirror of Creation 2”? To spare you the surprise: yes it is!

Tomorrow’s Eve – Morpheus (click here if the video above does not play)

With the powerful opening triple of the idiomatic ‘Welcome to the Show’ with its crunching riffs and anthemic chorus, ‘Morpheus’ with vocal melodies that bring back nostalgic memories of “Mirror of Creation 2” and the fast paced ‘Bread and Circuses’, Tomorrow’s Eve make it clear from the get go: They are back for good, and didn’t lose any of their songwriting and storytelling strengths. Changing things up a bit, ‘Imago’ (no, not a Pain of Salvation cover) has a distinct Ark vibe, especially due to the arrangement of the (octave doubling) backing vocals. Other highlights throughout this strong comeback album are the groove monster ‘Dream Within A Dream’ (not an Alan Parsons Project cover either) and ‘Inner Sanctum’, graced by an unexpected and beautiful bass solo intro from Mike LePond.

Tomorrow’s Eve – Dream Within A Dream (click here if the video above does not play)

“Mirror of Creation III – Project Ikaros” is sitting comfortably between melodic and progressive metal, providing enough anthemic melodies for fans of the former, whilst containing enough details in composition, arrangement and execution for fans of more complex music. John Macaluso’s powerful, yet intricate, oft-times linear drumming provides plenty of stunningly different, yet still forward driving grooves. And it is an accomplishment in itself to still serve the song at every moment, while keeping it detailed and interesting on the other hand. Another unique trait that make Tomorrow’s Eve stand out from the crowd of generic melodic prog metal bands is Martin LeMar’s dark and powerful timbre, always putting a lot of passion and conviction in his vocal performance. Without a doubt a must have for fans of the genre and hopefully we won’t have to wait another ten years for another Tomorrow’s Eve album. Welcome back!

Tracklist:

1. Welcome To The Show
2. Morpheus
3. Bread And Circuses
4. Imago
5. The System
6. Law And Order
7. Dream Withing A Dream
8. Terminal
9. Inner Sanctum
10. Somnium Ex Machina
11. Gods Among Each Other