Not a trace of the death metal that spawned the Italian sextet Blue Hour Ghosts can be heard on Due—a fresh- and smart-sounding prog-metal/alt-rock record that relies on clean vocals, atmospheric hooks and melodies galore. On the band’s second full-length album, Blue Hour Ghosts conjures sonic apparitions of Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater, but such comparisons don’t give these guys their, um, due. Guitarists Diego Angeli and Francesco Poggi spent a decade in a melodic death metal group called Oblivion999 before founding Blue Hour Ghosts and then made a conscious decision to head in the opposite direction. The closest the band comes to its roots are the crunchy, gritty “Lower the Wires” and the distorted “Involved/Bored;” both are the most generic of these nine tracks. Instead, hit “repeat” on “Disheartened” (anchored by gurgling drums and sharp twists), “Damn Wrong” (a dark, impassioned ballad) and “Dead in August” (which simmers and stings).
