Inspired by his work with ‘Elfonia’ vocalist/musician Marcela Bovio on Ayreon’s ‘The Human Equation’, Arjen Lucassen created ‘Stream of Passion’ as a showcase of her talents. And if ‘Embrace the Storm’ is anything to go by, her talents are considerable, as this is an excellent debut, full of memorable and beautiful progressive metal – a pleasure to listen to from start to finish. It is, however, definitely a ‘grower’ rather than an album with instant appeal – one may overlook it initially, but it is worth persisting. With repeated listens it starts to reveal it’s beauty. And like many that take time to appreciate it is also an album that will hopefully have long-term appeal, rather than a flash in the pan, transient pleasure.

The album is blend of delicate, haunting tunes and upbeat, catchy metal – there is something for everyone here. Moody opener ‘Spellbound’ starts with a pulsing drumbeat, Marcela’s beautiful vocals building slowly and dramatically to a crescendo before the song bursts into full life with a crash of guitars. The wonderful ‘Passion’ follows, the lyrics of this song being the inspiration for the name of the band. Orchestral arrangements blend seamlessly with the guitar riffs, without overwhelming them, in this fast paced and progressive number. ‘Deceiver’, the preview track released some months before the album, did not really stand out at the time as anything special, however in the context of the album it works much better. It is, to me at least, still one of the less memorable songs of the album however.

‘I’ll Keep on Dreaming’ slows the pace right down – piano and cello combining to create one of the most beautiful tracks on the album. The pace picks up again with ‘Haunted’, by far the heaviest track yet on the album and with a chorus that promises a good opportunity to head-bang live! ‘Wherever You Are’, another excellent heavier number is followed by the moody ‘Open Your Eyes’. Title track ‘Embrace the Storm’ is perhaps not quite as dramatic as was intended by the song title, but it is still a vibrant orchestral tinged delight, with the violins playing a key role in the sound. ‘Breathing Again’ is a track that rather passed me by on the first few listens and I definitely favoured ‘I’ll Keep on Dreaming’ of the more ballad style tracks. However, like the album in general, it is most definitely a grower and I would now rate this among my favourite tracks on the album. Starting out as a simple and delicate tune it builds gradually into a dramatic and breathtaking crescendo.

And if this weren’t enough, the next track is not only the best track on the album but a contender for track of the year. ‘Out in the Real World’ is an up-tempo, irresistibly catchy and undeniably wonderful song – if they don’t play this at their UK gigs next year it would an absolute crime against music. It is hard to follow such an incredibly memorable track and the final two songs do suffer a little in comparison. ‘Nostalgia’ makes it’s mark by virtue of being sung entirely in Marcela’s native tongue of Spanish – the romantic language lifting what might otherwise have been a rather unmemorable track. ‘Calliopeia’ is a dramatic and fitting closer to ‘Embrace the Storm, heavy, prog-tastic and demonstrating a bit of everything great about the album – haunting vocals, beautiful orchestration, strong guitars and a thoroughly catchy beat.

This is an astonishing progressive metal debut of undeniable talent, chock full of memorable tunes, catchy guitar riffs, beautiful orchestration that always complements and never overwhelms, and topped finally by Marcela Bovio’s wonderful voice – surely one of the best on the scene right now. What keeps this album from being a 9/10 is the fact that not all of the tracks stand out as much as the highlights, certain of them, particularly in the middle, fading from the mind till heard again – but the tracks that do stick, do so because of pure quality. It is an album that takes time to appreciate though, so if at first it does not appeal, keep trying. With a chance to develop and grow this band could become something truly excellent and I can only hope this project of prog-king, Arjen Lucassen, is something that he and the rest of the band are willing to commit to for future albums, as it would be a real shame if this album was just a one off.

Standout Tracks:  Out in the Real World, Haunted, Breathing Again, Passion.