Mandroid Echostar - Citadels

Track Listing:

1. A Death Marked Dream

2. Ancient Arrows

3. Haunted Vows

4. To the Wolves

5. The Sleeper

6. Ethereal Dawn

7. Citadels

Band Members:

Stephen Richards - Guitar

Sam Pattison - Guitar

Michael Ciccia - Vocals

James Krul - Guitar, Vocals

Matt H-K - Drums

Adam Richards - Bass

Here's a release that I've been waiting for for about a year now! Mandroid Echostar blew me away with their self titled release, playing a catchy progressive metal that took the vocals and clever songwriting of Coheed And Cambria (don't judge) and the progressive prowess of Protest the Hero, finding an beautiful grey area between the two. Citadels is no exception, although I think it pushes more into the Protest the Hero side of the spectrum this go around. The music is catchy, melodic, and technical with impressive, sometimes straight soulful vocals.

Starting off with track 1, A Death Marked Dream, we're greeted with an acoustic intro, complete with harmonizing vocals. It's very beautifully done and the melody is gorgeous. All in all it's pretty standard for a prog release, but it's still a great track on its own.

The second track starts off similarly with a clean riff and hi-hat, building up to… a fucking power metal epic! This song sounds like a video game soundtrack and I love it! Twin harmonizing guitar solos, sweeping and noodling all over the place before the vocals come in and you're dropped right into Mandroid Echostar's fantastic progressive formula. The verse sports technical riffs bouncing around behind a unique vocal rhythm. The song stays pretty upbeat throughout and is a perfect opening song for any album.

This album does a very good job of being diverse without being completely all over the place, which I've always considered the mark of an on point prog band. Each song is different and brings a new flavor to the album while still sounding like the band. Check it out for yourself when the album comes on on Nov. 21st!

Buy the album HERE

Follow the band on FACEBOOK