According to their bio sheet, Creation's End started off as two guys playing together in 1999 and writing a bunch of material together from 2003 to 2006. Recently, after playing in some other bands, they decided to reconvene, form a full band, and release their music "the right way." And, in short, the complete unit is a five piece that do this style of moderately progressive heavy metal right.

The combination of the band name, the album title, and the artwork all add up to almost more of a concept band than just an individual concept album. I feel like it's worthwhile to say something about the fantastic artwork, actually -- with the culture moving toward digital downloads, the booklets are sadly falling by the wayside, but the design of the package really fits in with the dark imagery of planetary decline by way of overindustrialization and imperialism. But I suppose compliments on the presentation and a rant about digital culture are a digression for another day.

The music owes a lot to classic metal with some progressive touches along the lines of Nevermore or Dream Theater. This is partly to be expected, with the lead guitarist having served duty in James LaBrie's band. The compositions are all fairly sprawling, with the shortest track clocking in five and a half minutes and two of the eight songs passing the 10 minute mark. There are some interesting rhythmic additions, such as the use of tabla on the intro to disc opener "Of Shadow And Flame." All of the musicians are able to show off their talents, with impressive drumming throughout and some crazy bass lines on tracks like "Still Life." The vocals are delivered with conviction in the sort of power metal style you would expect; although there's nothing wrong with them, and the vocalist has a good range, they're not particularly adventurous or diverse.

I have to wonder where the band goes from here, lyrically or thematically - the album ends with "Creation's End," including the lines "Eden is burning" and "Eden is bleeding." Is it the full-on end of the world, or is it going to lead into a post-apocalyptic rebirth scenario? Either way, I'm excited to find out. The music here is expertly done, with great riffs, melodies, and solo playing, even if it's a bit conservative in places. Unless you have some inexplicable aversion to melodic singing in your metal, this one is worth checking out.