Hailing from Athens, the birthplace of philosophy comes Mother of Millions, a 5-piece progressive metal act who certainly provoke a lot of thought when you listen to them. Formed in 2008 and including members from one of Greece’s finest progressive metal bands POEM, Mother of Millions brings a wide range of influences and musical styles together to form what is more than just a progressive metal sound on “Human”, their debut album – bringing in elements of symphonic metal, along with traditional Greek folk touches, stoner grooves and progressive rock and heavy metal, the finished product is a well polished journey with a dark and despair filled theme.
“Human” is split into three states – I (Orientation, Propaganda Techniques and The Parallel), II (Ignition, Evolving, Evolved and Fire) and III (Loss, Running and Human). All three states of the album continue the atmospheric touch which runs through the composition of the songs which is contributed to greatly by the keyboards, the samples, the massive range of vocals and the excellent production.
State I of the album, the first three tracks are more metal orientated. “Orientation” opens the album. With its dark lyrical themes, tight, controlled guitar riffs which are in perfect sync with the rhythm section, complimented with intricate keyboard sections which all lie underneath the powerful vocals which set the tone for the entire album, starting softly in the verse before they explode into a powerful gravelly delivery for the main parts of the song, delivering maximum impact. “Propaganda Techniques” starts with an almost hypnotic clean passage, layered with samples from political addresses on economics before it kicks into the main bulk of the song, heavily distorted precise guitars with the keys repeating the hypnotic melody of the intro before it leads into a Tool-esque breakdown and guitar solo. “The Parallel” retains this metal edge with its aggressive sound which sounds similar to some of the more metal-friendly Dream Theater Songs.
State II changes the feel of the album. “Ignition” is an instrumental track which samples the epic “I’m mad as hell” monologue from Peter Finch’s character in the 1976 film “Network” which has harrowing similarities to the state of the world today. State II’s tracks are just as heavy as State I’s, but they hit harder lyrically. “Evolving” follows this and like its name suggests, it evolves the sound beyond just the progressive metal sound. The atmosphere thickens, the keyboards play a greater part in the upcoming tracks and the vocals are delivered with more power, melancholic lows compliment the clean sections and they transform into raw full bodied deliveries as the distortion kicks in. “Evolving” seamlessly transitions into “Evolved” with its hypnotic bass-line and minimalistic yet effective drum beat. The way it transitions makes it almost seem like a refrain rather than a separate song. The final screams ring out and straight into “Fire” which although short in length, covers a vast range of musical styles. It goes from metallic at the start before the middle section where the traditional musical influence comes in with low rasped vocals, layered chants and lines delivered like they were at a political rally before breaking into the familiar, powerfully emotive delivery which runs through the album over the metallic feel once more.
State III concludes the album. The final three tracks are more poignant in their mood. “Lost” is a dark number, stripped back and minimalistic in its approach with its musical structure with crafty piano sections and bright sounding guitar solo despite the dark feel to it. “Running” is another instrumental number and it has a very traditional Greek folk feel to it, with the acoustic guitars over the tribal styled drums creating another hypnotic vibe, laced with the sounds of heavy breathing which give the impression something big is coming. “Human”, the final track of the state, and title/closing track to the album. It brings back the metal edge from the earlier tracks with the Tool-esque sound returning again, echoing the album “Lateralus” – tight, precise, complex bass and drums, atmospheric keys, heavy guitars and powerful vocal deliveries. It serves as a fitting end to a complex and enjoyable album.
Progressive metal is a tough genre and with the heavyweights like Tool and Dream Theater dominating it at the moment, it is hard to find a unique sound but Mother of Millions have done so with “Human”. Its variety of styles and sounds combined with a running time of just over 40 minutes keeps the listener’s interest and it is such an easy album to listen to over and over again.
(9/10 Peter Thompson)
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