Last Warning - Throughout Time

A small research thru the net reveals that Italians Last Warning aren’t exactly newcomers in the music scene, having formed in 1887 and already released two albums prior to the new offering “Throughout Time”, which the latest “Under a Spell” goes way back to 2000. Apparently, the Italian group have been working on “Throughout Time” since 2002, yet a series of line-up reshuffles and label hassles have prevented them from releasing their third release any sooner, which is a shame really, because seven years ago this would sound like a fairly acceptable affair, but nowadays it’s near impossible not to feel it’s a bit outdated. Even tough albums of this kind, revolving around a progressive metal sonority in the vein of bands like Dream Theater and Queensryche don’t stray too far from its stereotypes and tend to be lightly atemporal, “Throughout Time” sadly suffers from a slightly lustreless production work that gives it a sense of passé. Bands of this ilk have to be granted with incredibly first-rate productions in order to highlight all the technical and interesting twists and details to ultimately grab our attention. I believe the band’s budget isn’t quite as large as Dream Theater or Queensryche, yet in today’s standards “Throughout Time” sound-wise just doesn’t have what it takes to make Last Warning stand out.
Nevertheless, the band plays remarkably well and knows how to craft some effective and interesting songs in this genre, sticking to most of its prominent patterns, which might sound tiresome at first, yet Last Warning do it with great technical proficiency and enough aplomb to warrant at least some spins from the unconditional fans of Dream Theater and Queensryche. (6.5/10)

Band info: www.last-warning.com
Label info: www.mykingdommusic.net
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