This is the latest EP from The Lucidia Project, a metal band from the US.
The Lucidia Project play a mix of symphonic metal, progressive rock, and melodic death metal. At 32 minutes in duration, is The Twilight Affliction an EP or an album? Reader, you decide. It’s labelled as an EP though, so we’ll go with that.
The mix of metal styles – progressive, symphonic, power, melodic – are all complementary and blended together with skill. The songs manage to sound at home in any of those subgenres, so could potentially appeal to a wide range of listeners.
The music is atmospheric, but also has hooks. Of the latter, some are quite instant, whereas others work on you over time. I like this mix, as it helps The Twilight Affliction to really grow and reveal itself properly on repeat spins. Well-played and well-performed, The Lucidia Project have an obvious talent for this sort of material, but also display the knowledge of how to effectively use it.
The vocalist has a good clean singing voice, capable of being the focal point of the music, while also allowing him to layer it with atmospheric depth when needed. Harsh vocals appear in places, but it is the clean singing where the music’s vocal strengths lie.
The Lucidia Project have now firmly put themselves on my radar. The Twilight Affliction is an enjoyable release that’s good in its own right, but also shows much promise for the future. I look forward to seeing where the band take their sound next. I feel that The Lucidia Project are the sort of band that could potentially release something really special in the future. Fingers crossed.
For now, if you’re a fan of bands such as Dark Tranquillity, Evanescence, Insomnium, Nightwish, and Oceans of Slumber, then you’ll want to give this a listen.
Wonderbox Metal 