Abstraction - End Of Hope

Abstraction

End Of Hope

by Jeff Legg at 29 July 2014, 8:40 PM

Although ABSTRACTION classifies their sound as Progressive Metal, after listening to their 9 track debut album, “End of Hope”, I would have to describe their music as some kind of alternative power metal. The actual definition of “alternative” is “different and unusual”, which would definitely describe the sound of this five piece band from Bulgaria. The members are Mladen Medarov on vocals, Danail Karjilov on guitar, Ivaylo Rashev on bass, Antonio Velkov on drums, and Pavel Serafimov on keyboards.

Outside of a few songs, in particular “Shattered Pieces”, “Wondering” and “The Righteous Path”, I’m sorry to say it, but I just don’t get this album. Relative to what’s happening in the metal genre these days, ABSTRACTION doesn’t sound much like anyone I could relate to. Referencing all the way back to the 1990’s, I could detect some subtle SAVATAGE influences from the album “Streets: A Rock Opera”. And as was the case all too often throughout “End of Hope”, just when I thought I was going to like a particular song, a folk sound would take over, some group chants would start, or the song would totally change up the pace and go in a different direction. I really wanted to like this record because I’m a huge fan of the Power Metal genre, and really like this style of vocalist. But in the end, the songs were just not that good and I was left wondering “what could have been”. I feel like this band displays enough talent and creativity to put out a pretty good album sometime down the road, but this is not that album. The highlight of this offering for me is Darjilov’s guitar tracks. This guy is a really good guitar player and will surely be heard on a larger stage someday.

Overall, ABSTRACTION’s sound is a mixture of styles, blending Folk Rock with an orchestral sound, while at the same time trying to sound progressive. I know that most musicians want to play what their heart tells them to play, and these give it a good try, but there’s just not enough catchy material or continuity to keep me interested. I give these guys a lot of credit for originality, and with time and the right song selection, could make their way in the music industry in the future. “End of Hope” is just not my “cup of tea”.