Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Imp - Ashes In The Hourglass - NuParadigm Records Reviewed by: Nailer

Track Listing1. Intro 2. Successors 3. Demise of Man 4. The last Descendant 5. The Great Arrival 6. Onslaught

Under the moniker of "prog metal" a wide subset exists from the power metal leaning of old Queensryche, to the dizzy complexities of Watchtower to the offbeat twiddley stuff that I can't connect with at all. Being derivative of the early power-prog of Fates Warning isn't so bad for diminutively-named IMP who shred a hundred riffs behind grandiose concepts that stretch back through time and reach out beyond the stars. No Lovecraft monsters need apply, though.

Female vocalist Monica Janssen (Acidict, Thripthong and At Daybreak) carries the set, the Yin to John Arch's Yang. She's out of element with the sprinkling of vocal growls that come across as pandering to tastes better left to a male voice or Glassgow/Otep throat, but she shines beautifully with the melodic leads:

"Beneath the silver moon, on an eerie night / dancing shadows swayed in starlight, / the black blood / of Eden in their eyes"

There's the strength of voice that belies the bands name and the key that could carry them on.

Score: 7.5

--Nailer 09.10.04