"A Manifesto for Domination--the title says it all."

Follow up:

10/10

1. Intro
2. A Manifesto For Domination
3. Blind Eyes To The Sky
4. The Hidden
5. Disconnected
6. Deliver The Suffering
7. powderBurn
8. A Thousand Points Of Night
9. Communicate With The Violence
10. I Fought The World
11. The Lonely Road
12. Physician, Heal Thyself

"Given the chance I can do no less than dominate with every breath"

These words are the opening line to Halcyon Way's debut album, and they sum up the whole album very well.

Halcyon Way is a metal band from Atlanta, whose style hovers somewhere in between hard rock and progressive metal. They have been around for years and have shared the stage with, well just about every single metal band that has came to Atlanta in the last few years. They have played ProgPower USA twice, and earlier this year they were signed by Lance King on to Nightmare Records to distribute their debut.

This album just rocks, as it should. The boys from Halcyon Way have been working on it for years, and you can tell that when you listen to it. They have paid much attention to detail on this album.

Their sound can probably best be described as a modern day Queensryche, with enough harmonies to make Bon Jovi jealous. They do not really use the flashy solos that most bands use, rather they go with just a tasteful lead part instead. The guitar work is very catchy, enjoyable and well executed. The bass parts can be very interesting, but they sometimes can be too deep in the mix to really hear. The drummer really does a great job on this release keeping the songs moving, by changing up the drum part many times during each song, enough though he almost alls ends up doing a driving crashing part. He even throws a little techo *dtis*dtis*dtis*dtis* in there every now and then. The song writing and production are both top notch, and singer Sean Shields sets himself up as a stand out vocalist with his performance.

The album starts out with an elctro type intro filled with sound clips. The next track is the title track which is my personal favorite. Then it goes into the song "Blind Eyes to the Sky" which is a very rockish song that they have had for awhile. The next track "The Hidden" is filled with heavy riffs and guest death vocals. "Disconnected" and "Deliver the Suffering" follow and they both well written and catchy. "Powderburn" is a more serious song about young suicide. The next track "A Thousand Points of Night" is a real stand out one. "Communicate with the Violence" is a catchy keyboard driven rock song. The next track is the bands anthem "I Fought the World". The last two tracks are probably the most progressive ones on the album.

The guys from Halcyon Way are really great guys that I have had the honor of meeting a couple of times. If you look in the photos section you will actually see a picture of David and myself with the boys from Halcyon Way, but I do not want you to think that this has influenced my score, the guys could be total jerks and this album still would have made no less than a 9.5. Songwriter Jon Bodan and gang have made a great first release and I hope they have many more to come.
"A Manifesto For Domination"
The title says it all.

ROCK ON!!!!

Links

Halcyon Way on Myspace
Halcyon Way's official website
Buy the album

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