CD Details
Synopsis
Album DescriptionMention 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. "I was not a huge fan of fantasy, but I was so truly captivated by Quentin?s story that I wrote music around it," Hugo says. Hugo realized that the only way to capture the many nuances of the story was to write and record three separate records to coincide with the exciting episodes that sprang from Borderie?s fertile mind. "With an in-depth story like this, we felt the best way to present the main events of the story was to separate them into three major parts," Hugo says. "Basically, each song represents a chapter of Quentin?s novel." 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.
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Member CD Reviews
 Kenneth W. (Eyesore) from TAUNTON, MA Reviewed on 12/4/2007... Anthropia is a French progressive power metal band, the creation of a young man by the name of Hugues Lefebvre (Hugo, for short). The Ereyn Chronicles, Part I: The Journey Of Beginnings is, as one might assume, a fantasy-based concept album, the first of three installments. The story takes place in the fictional world of Ereyn, ruled by Queen Lunne. As with most fantastical concept albums, the land has fallen into chaos. The main character, Amryl, is on a mission to find the "all-knowing oracle" which will save his people. A disastrous shipwreck, however, sets him on a separate course; one that sees him searching for self-discovery, as he rose from that near-fatal shipwreck with amnesia. Amryl is a hero in the loosest sense; he's naive and not so much a warrior, the typical character trait for a story such as this. Of course, the story is secondary; what of the music?
Musically The Ereyn Chronicles is a very impressive album. Heavy progressive metal is the main course; but symphonic metal and classical are also on the table. The album starts with the typical atmospheric intro: orchestration, chanting, etc. "Question Of Honor" follows and immediately makes its presence known with heavy riffs, killer solos, keyboards, a great chorus, chanting, and the one thing that I feel plagues this album most: bum vocal notes.
I can't hold much against Hugo, he's done everything here but the drums; however, while his vocals sound excellent for the most part, he occasionally hits some notes in a higher-range that simply sound a bit off. I'd say the average music fan wouldn't pick up on it; but one attuned to this sort of thing may find their face crinkling up a bit when he hits those notes. Luckily, it's not a common thing throughout the album; and, aside from a few mediocre moments, Hugo consistently shows his skills and songwriting prowess on songs like "Lords Of A World," the semi-acoustic "Forgotten," "In The Maze Of A Nightmare," and the epic prog-rock heavy closer, "The Desert Of Jewels."
Anthropia, for me, was one of the biggest surprises of 2006. The Ereyn Chronicles, while not perfect, is a very good album that does much more than hint at great music to come when the inevitable parts two and three are released.
Website: http://www.anthropia.org
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/anthropiachronicles
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Track Listings (10) - Disc #1