When an album is difficult to categorize, that is usually a positive thing; it means that the artist in question is striving for originality.
Transcendental, the debut album by the part-British, part-Hungarian band
To Mera, is such an album. This 2006 recording is metal, but
To Mera do not pledge their allegiance to one type of metal exclusively. Instead, this complex, highly ambitious effort is probably best described as a blend of gothic metal, progressive metal and alternative metal.
To Mera have some
Dream Theater in their sound, but the haunting, goth-drenched lead vocals of Julie Kiss (formerly of
Without Face) don't sound like anything one would hear on a
Dream Theater album -- and while
Transcendental is full of darkly ethereal melodies, the heavy, bonecrushing parts of this 52-minute CD are much more brutal than any of
Dream Theater's riffs. Calling
Transcendental a blend of gothic metal, prog metal and alt metal is not to say that those are
To Mera's only influences; in terms of those, this band is all over the place.
To Mera don't favor a simple verse/chorus/verse/chorus approach; their material is full of intriguing twists and turns, and they are likely to incorporate elements of styles ranging from black metal (minus the rasp vocals) to jazz (both post-bop and fusion) to Euro-classical to East European folk. When
Transcendental is finished playing, one gets the impression that
To Mera's members are eclectic enough to appreciate everyone from
Tori Amos to
Dark Funeral to
Yes to
Johann Sebastian Bach to
Chick Corea's
Return to Forever. And much to their credit,
To Mera manage to pull all this off without sounding confused or unfocused.
Transcendental is hard to absorb on first listen -- this is not simplistic music by any means -- but headbangers who have eclectic tastes and are not intimidated by complexity will find this intense yet intricate and highly melodic effort to be quite an adventure. ~ Alex Henderson