Metal Underground.com

From the land where most great metal roams....there comes another. Hailing from the northeastern locality of Robertsfors (named after ironworks founder Robert Finlay) along the shores of the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Bothnia, Summoned Tide plants its flag in the ground of an overcrowded power/progressive scene. Though the band has been around for the last eight years, the group remains unsigned and virtually unknown, especially here in North America. What the band lacks in “new direction” on its sophomore release “The Bringer of the Tide,” it makes up for in extremely well played and thought provoking complex compositions, some of which tend to drag on a wee bit too long. Overall, it’s a solid release worthy of both fans of progressive metal and progressive rock.

On first listen to “The Bringer of the the Tide,” the immediate influences range from Mob Rules, to Rush, to Coheed & Cambria, to Deep Purple and around to Symphony X. Vocalist/guitarist Rickard Thelin has all the poise and talent of Claudio Sanchez and the band sets the Coheed & Cambria tone right off the bat with the album’s lead song and title track. However, there is just enough power punch to keep the power metal nerds interested.

"A Daemon's Confession" takes the cake for me, a solid energetic number with a more progressive twist. It has an ultra catchy hook in the main chorus (which also opens the song) with that "well placed pause" that instantly causes the head to rock and foot to tap. Though only 6:12, the song tends to drag on just a bit too long, ending with an elongated, but well played, solo. Other enjoyable tracks include "I Put the Lawless in Jail" (another cool hook in the main riff), "When I'm Live" (another Coheed-esque number with a fantastic bridge and soaring chorus), "From Ashes Rise" (a tune for the Symphony X lovers for sure).

From the mid-point of "Dreams,” which starts with a bang for the first 5-6 minutes (out 12) with a nod to latter day progressive Iron Maiden and a dash of harsh vocals, the rest of the release seems to linger on in a coma of musical fapping, albeit played brilliantly. This yielded a few yawns in between the "ooo wow, that part is cool." "Omnipotent" has a nice mid-paced drive, but it doesn't throttle me like I'd hoped. "Shade of Rust" is mostly instrumental, which sort of falls off the table at the end.

"The Bringer of the Tide" is a well rounded sophomore effort from a highly talented young act. Still unsigned, I don't see this lasting for much longer as there is a plethora of prog labels that should take interest in the band as the word gets out. For me, I preferred the more "driving simple parts" which held more memorable moments, though I acknowledge the amazing effort and high level of musicianship shown on this release.