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After Infinity

    
       
       
       
     
             
After Infinity are a power metal band from Finland formed in 2022 releasing their self titled debut album in 2024.    
             
Founded by guitarist Zsolt Szilagyi (Dreamtale, Frozen Factory), After Infinity display a diverse blend of power, and traditional heavy metal, featuring dynamic compositions, heavy guitar riffs and epic orchestrations - the bands debut album an elegant and fairly majestic forty two minutes and nine songs long. And to further diversify the album, Szilagyi enlisted a number of guest vocalists - Nitte Valo (Dreamtale, ex Battle Beast, ex Burning Point), Mikael Salo (Northern Seer, ex Everfrost, ex Metal De Facto, ex Dyecrest), Leonard F. Guillan (ex King Company), Stephen Baker (Frozen Factory), and Juanma Draven (Carved In Ashes). So with such a wealth of vocal talent on show, what does 'After Infinity' actually sound like...    
             
...let's go find out - the album opening with the one minute crescendo building, anticipation loaded, mellow and serenity fuelled intro 'Calm Before The Storm'. And blow me down with the proverbial fucking feather, 'cause 'Calm Before The Storm', is (literally) the calm before the storm - 'After Infinity' storming into life proper with the up tempo and immensely energetic 'I Surrender To You'. Pounding the ground harder than a jackhammer smashing through concrete, the band are at full tilt here, serving up a level of head bang ability that's gonna have everyone everywhere vigorously rocking their heads back and forth! What an opening salvo - explosive and fully charged the band roar on with 'A Game Of Chess', bringing a slight progressive touch to the fore! After Infinity have been electrifying across the albums first two songs, the energy and oomph sky high, the infectious level off the fucking charts, listeners jaws dropping to the floor with a resounding thud!    
             
Over the years, Finland have produced some cracking metal bands - Stratovarius, Lordi, Sonata Arctica, Battle Beast, Arion, Beast In Black - After Infinity having a lot to live up to! And on the evidence of just the first two songs, I reckon the band are more than capable of maintaining Finland's fine legacy, 'After Infinity' moving to a more elegant plane courtesy of the hymn-like 'Do What You've Got To Do' - an air of serenity descending upon the album. Some may consider 'Do What You've Got To Do' a stroll through balladry, but for me the band keep one foot out of ballad territory, preferring a bolder, more emphatic approach rather than the lighter raising sway from side to side atmosphere of a power ballad! And featuring a more aggressive sound than everything heard so far, 'Crown Of Clowns' roars outta the blocks, hitting harder than a heavyweight boxer on a mission to end the bout in the very first round! Yet the band still manage to include some progressive elements into 'Crown Of Clowns', along with just the slightest hint of symphonic metal - After Infinity crossing genre borders with consummate ease. At three and a half minutes in length, 'Capital Punishment' is the shortest song on offer, yet makes the biggest noise - the hustling, bustling nature more rowdy than anything heard up to this point! The force oozing from 'Capital Punishment' is immense, the band striding forth with shoulders back and heads held high - a majestic offering you'll agree, and an instrumental to boot!    
             
And with an incredible upturn in elegance and majesty, 'After Infinity' glides on with, wait, what, female vocals! Yes readers, I'd got so engrossed with listening to the bands music I'd (kinda) forgotten all about the guest vocalists - 'Without You' featuring the soaring vocals of Nitte Valo (lead singer for Finnish power metallers Dreamtale). And once again After Infinity proudly parade the emphatic hymn-like sound heard earlier (on 'Do What You've Got To Do'), only this time, female vocals replace the male ones! Simply sumptuous, 'Without You' is one of the best songs on offer - don't get me wrong they're all good, it's just that 'Without You' has that something extra! And clocking in at eight minutes in length, 'The Power Beyond His Fight' is the longest song on 'After Infinity', and is a hard hitting anti war anthem (After Infinity showing their support for Ukraine who fell victim to armed aggression in 2022), featuring every style of metal the band have in their locker, from fast paced power metal to symphonic and progressive nuances and everything in-between! And bringing the album to a close, the band treat us to a third hymn-like swagger, this time courtesy of the majestic mid tempo, strolling 'Two Restless Hearts', 'After Infinity' closer now than ever to falling headlong into ballad territory. But again for me, there's just too much weight pouring outta 'Two Restless Hearts' to be classed as a proper ballad.    
             
Overall, a magnificent melodic power metal march incorporating symphonic and progressive metal elements, 'After Infinity' is a cracking debut.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for The Metallist PR    
             
             
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