Distant Past "Utopian Void"

Country: Switzerland
Sub Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Pure Steel
Release date: January 17, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. A Day of Darkness - 04:51
2. Sceptre - 03:59
3. On the Edge - 05:05
4. Faces - 04:28
5. Kingdom of Shadows - 06:08
6. Helpless - 05:17
7. Guided by the Stars - 04:16
8. Breath - The Spell - 05:55
9. The Illusion - 03:15
10. The Hell of Verdun - 07:49

Line-up: 
Jvo Julmy – Vocals
Adriano Troiano – Bass & Keyboards
Christoph Schafer – Guitar on Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9
Alain Curty – Guitar on Tracks 3, 6, 8, 10
Al Spicher – Drums on Tracks 1, 7
   With
Andy Bächler – Drums on Tracks 2, 3, 6, 10
“The Onion”– Drums on Tracks 4, 5, 8, 9
Cornelia Curty – Violin on Track 8
David Luterbacher – Guest Guitar Solo on Track 3

Description/Reviews: 

Being called a blend of progressive and melodic heavy metal often times paints a picture of sleepy, overly technical musicianship without much pop. So when I hit play on this disc I prepared myself for the worst. Instead of bubblegum quasimetal though I got a delightful and entertaining series of hard rockers and with lots of hooks and steeped with gracious portions of melody.
Former Emerald vocalist Jvo Julmy leads the sonic attack with some very good vocals, though I don't think this is his best performance as some of his earlier stuff is just phenomenal, but still a very solid job done here. The music writing is mature, the production is mostly very solid, though there are some bits where things sound a bit muddled, but that is only a minor issue.
There are a few tracks on here that had some potential but seemed to get lost along the way, but if you listen to such tracks as A Day Of Darkness, Guided By The Stars or The Hell Of Verdun for example you will see some really good stuff shining through. Songs such as Helpless with it's slow ballad start ended up with some fire in it and it has become one of my favorite tracks on here. There is a lot to absorb and after several listens I don't think I have taken it all in yet. I am sure I will "get" more of it with each listen. Definitely a very mature effort by a band that can deliver some really good tunes. (truemetallives.com)

Media/Samples 
A Day Of Darkness
Progstreaming

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