Sometime in February - Where Mountains Hide Review • Strah

I have made peace with myself that I cannot review all the albums that come to me. It is an impossible mission even though I would love to have the time to review all of them. It is so because in my mind I am helping the bands, especially obscure bands as the most that come to me, reviewing their albums. They have spent so much effort, time, and money to record, promote, and distribute them that I think the least I can do is to give them a proper review. It is no secret when I have lots of albums to review as this week – 12 albums to be precise – I may choose them by the band name or the album tittle. Other times I take a look at the CD cover to realize if it attracts me. Show of hands who has never chosen a CD by its cover!

I have to confess I put Sometime in February “Where Mountains Hide” to play because I thought I would not like it. By its tittle and band name I thought it would boring, but so boring that it would be impossible to review it. However, there are always the imponderable, the variables impossible to control. “Where Mountains Hide” proved itself to be a delicious instrumental only album with many references that made me remind my teens when I was learning how to play the guitar and my instructor played pieces as Chick Corea, Weather Report, Paco de Lucia, and many others. I felt all of them with “Where Mountains Hide” with the cool sound of the electric piano. Somehow, the label fusion-metal in the press release made all sense to me. Only the one who knows what is fusion might understand what I am saying.

By a quirk of coincidence, Sometime in February are a trio. I say that because trios are coming in the thousands here these days. One better than the other. The band labels themselves as Progressive Metal, but, form where I am standing they are much more, that’s why I said the label fusion-Metal made all sense to me. Interestingly, as 12 tracks are short with an average of 4 minutes long. No, nothing much as compared to Progressive Metal average.

From the beginning with “Palantir” “Where Mountains Hide” showcases it is here to make a huge confusion with the fan’s mind in the good sense. “Palantir” commences pretty Metal, therefore pretty heavy. Within seconds everything changes and Sometime in February show everything they have got hidden in their long musical sleeves. I mean, the band’s music is so rich in details that is almost impossible to tell about all of them. It’s not only the Progressive Metal influences, the band adds many more by using the fusion concept which to add some Jazz, Blues, Latin Jazz, and evrything they have in hands to spice their songs. That’s why tracks as “The Bad Fight” have so many moments and shifts. As I mentioned before abut other band, Sometime in February plan their music as if the are planning a Lego game, that is, putting all the pieces together. Better yet, if they make any sense. I mean, there are times in “The Bad Fight” the sequences do nt make sense and, yet, they sound even better. For instance, “Outside In” sounds as chaotic as any Black Metal song with the exception they use many clean chords. For the ones who do not know, Free Jazz is this way chaotic. On the other hand, those moments are a certain calm before the storm because by the middle of it the band adds some Iron Maiden inspired sequences that spice up the dough.

Long story short, an easy label to Sometime in February‘s music would be Iron Maiden went fusion. To some extent, my guess is that the band, for reasons they only know, favors their fusion side. My guess, again, is that this option make their muic even better.

Sometime in February “Where Mountains Hide” will be released on March 21st via Inside Out / Century Media Records.

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