ARTENSION: Into the Blue CD. Neo-classical / prog metal; superstar line up. check samples

SAMPLES: www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B000001090/ref=pd_krex_dp_a

Track listing:
"Area 51" - 7:30
"Through the Gate" - 6:43
"Valley of the Kings" - 8:47
"Blood Brother" - 4:44
"Into the Blue" - 4:59
"Phoenix Rising" - 7:45
"Forbidden Love" - 4:52
"The City Is Lost" - 7:38
"Goin' Home" - 6:08
"I Really Don't Care" - 2:13
Total time 62 minutes.

All songs by John West and Vitalij Kuprij, except track 10 by Vitalij Kuprij

John West – vocals
Roger Staffelbach – guitar
Kevin Chown – bass guitar
Mike Terrana – drums
Vitalij Kuprij - Keyboards

Phoenix Rising is the second album by progressive metal band Artension. It contains the second song in the "Don't Care" trilogy, "I Really Don't Care", with "I Don't Care" on the preceding album and "I Really, Really Don't Care" on their latest album.

5.0 out of 5 stars
Artension is a prog metal band with focus around the keyboardist versus a guitarist. The vocalist at times sounds a lot like Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, Impelliteri) and the songs are generally catchy. Check them out if you like other progressive metal acts like Dream Theater, Stratovarius, Rhapsody, etc...

Artension really does deserve to get more attention than they do, as all of their members are really great musicians and killer songwriters, too. It's too bad that they stopped recording new material after a rather dissapointing final outing, Future World. During the Phoenix Rising era, however, Artension was firing on all cylinders. Their sound is odd in explanation but mesmerizing in an actual listen. It is a sort of neo classical progressive style with some classic rock and blues roots thrown in, which is mostly inspired by one of my favorite vocalists, mastermind John West. John's voice is really powerful, and he surprises sometimes by throwing out some high-pitched notes.
The pack is led by excellent keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij, one of my favorites. He is one of the master songwriters, and he could play at any speed. The keys sound really good on this album production-wise, which may also be because of the fact that Kuprij always picks just the right tone, just the right effect on every song, especially on the title-track. Since the keyboard sound is one of the most substantial elements on Phoenix Rising, this really makes it stand out. Drums are played to par and so is bass, with no special exceptions, just the usual performances. Songwriting is excellent, and it is truly memorable while still being progressive. Don't think this album is exclusively progressive, as some songs like Through the Gate and Blood Brother are straight power.
I've listened to this album about thirty times over the last two years, so I can confirm that it has re-listen-ability and not having this quality is the main problem most progressive albums have.

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Mike Terrana
Age: born Jan 21st, 1960
Place of origin:United States (Buffalo)
Gender:Male
Active Bands -Past Bands:

Artension
1996 Into the Eye of the Storm Drums
1997 Phoenix Rising Drums
2001 Sacred Pathways Drums
2002 New Discovery Drums
2004 Future World Drums

Masterplan
2007 Lost and Gone (EP) Drums
2007 MK II Drums
2010 Far from the End of the World (Single) Drums
2010 Time to Be King Drums

Victor Smolski
Narration / Drums

Axel Rudi Pell
2000 The Masquerade Ball Drums
2002 Shadow Zone Drums
2004 Kings and Queens Drums
2006 Mystica Drums
2007 Diamonds Unlocked Drums
2008 Tales of the Crown Drums
2010 The Crest Drums

Roland Grapow
1999 Kaleidoscope Drums

Empire
2007 Chasing Shadows Drums

Mike Terrana
1999 Shadows of the Past Drums
2005 Man of the World Drums
2008 Rhythm Beast (DVD) Drums

Razorback
2007 Deadringer Drums

Savage Circus
2009 Of Doom and Death Drums

Downhell
2009 Karma Drums

Zillion
2004 Zillion Drums

Tarja
2010 What Lies Beneath Drums
2011 Underneath (Single) Drums

Emir Hot
Drums

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Vitalij Kuprij
Age: born 1974
Place of origin: Ukraine (Kiev)
Gender: Male
Active Bands - Past Bands

Artension
Keyboards1996 Into the Eye of the Storm Keyboards & Acoustic Piano
1997 Phoenix Rising Keyboards
1999 Forces of Nature Keyboards
2000 Machine Keyboards
2001 Sacred Pathways Keyboards
2002 New Discovery Keyboards
2004 Future World Keyboards

Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Keyboards

Mark Boals
2000 Ring of Fire Keyboards

Vitalij Kuprij
1997 High Definition Keyboards
1998 Extreme Measures Keyboards
1999 VK3 Keyboards
2001 Works of Liszt and Chopin Keyboards
2004 Forward and Beyond Keyboards
2005 The Modern European Tradition Keyboards
2005 Revenge Keyboards
2007 Glacial Inferno Keyboards
2007 Glacial Inferno & Revenge (Compilation) Keyboards
2008 12 Months of the Year Keyboards

Ferrigno, Leal, Kuprij
Keyboards

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John West
Place of origin:United States (New York)
Gender:Male
Active Bands - Past Bands

Artension
1996 Into the Eye of the Storm Vocals
1997 Phoenix Rising Vocals
1999 Forces of Nature Vocals
2000 Machine Vocals
2001 Sacred Pathways Vocals
2002 New Discovery Vocals
2004 Future World Vocals

John West
1997 Mind Journey Vocals
2006 Long Time... No Sing Vocals

Emir Hot
Vocals