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Progressivemetal’s pretentious reputation won’t be spared with Zenith, the third album from AtmOsfear. Indeed, the 71-minute disccontains only six songs, including the four-part finale “Spiral of Pain,” whichclocks in at almost half an hour. But the German quintetnot to be confusedwith the U.K.-based jazz/funk band of the same name from the late ’70salso providesa prime example of just how melodic and moving progressive metal can be thesedays.
Nowhere is thismore evident than on “Spiral of Pain,” which effortlessly takes listeners on anemotional spin. The seven-and-a-half-minute instrumental “Reawakening” beginswith a lone piano solo and then turns ominous, segueing perfectly into thealbum’s darkest piece, the nasty, minor-key “Scum of Society.” The weakesttrack, “Generations,” is plagued with gruff vocals bordering on death-metalgrunts that detract from the rest of the album’s classiness.
