Metal Underground.com

When I interviewed Francine Boucher of Echoes of Eternity, one of the things we talked about regarding their sophomore album, "As Shadows Burn," was the fact that it was much heavier in tone than their debut. As a whole, the album is a prog rock mix of thrashy guitar, sometimes almost speed power metal drums, and the occasional symphonic element, but unfortunately Boucher’s mellow but pretty vocals hold this album back from being a truly great example of progressive metal.

The opening track, "Ten of Swords," is a perfect example of how the new aggressive instrumentals still can’t help Echoes of Eternity overcome their melodic sound, as they just don’t mesh with the not quite ballady vocals. The chorus here isn’t bad, with some good sustained notes on Boucher’s part, but it’s a mediocre track at best.

The biggest flaw with most of the tracks is that between the melodic, sometimes poppy vocals, and the recurring tap tap drums, the tunes often drag when they should assault. And with the exception of "The Scarlet Embrace," Boucher’s vocals often lack any real emotion.

"Twilight Fires" is, however, a very good tune, with a dark, almost goth sounding bass, and an excellent fast paced drum tempo. The guitar work here is also very good, and makes for the best track hands down. This is followed up by another pretty good tune, "Buried Beneath A Thousand Dreams," but the repetitive drum tempo is getting old by this point.

Instrumental tracks are always hit and miss, but the fact that "As Shadows Burn" closes with one was probably a poor decision. "Funeral in the Sky" is not only nearly twice as long as the other songs, but even with the slowly climbing guitar and tension before switching to a hard rock sound, there’s just not anything special with this track. If Echoes of Eternity really wanted to include this one on the release, tucking it somewhere in the middle as an intermission would have been a much better decision than as a farewell note.

Echoes of Eternity has managed to deliver a heavier sound with "As Shadows Burn," but it’s still not anything to warrant a huge new fan following. If you like female-fronted bands, Boucher’s voice is strong enough to tantalize, but if the vocals aren’t your focus, and you’re looking for solid progressive metal, you probably want to keep on looking.