Artist: Ion Vein CD Title: "Beyond Tomorrow" Reviewed by: Nick Martinelli Reviewed: 12/15/200

    Pump those fists in the air for these new Progressive / Power metal new comers! They simply kill!  Chops from hell, melodic undertones, thundering bass, and drums that will knock you out of your pants.  Oh, did I mention the vocals?  Forget Geoff Tate!  Russ Klimczak puts him to shame.  Russ picks up where Geoff left off after "Empire."  His vocals are bone chilling.  Forget the new moody Ryche, this is the old school that all us Ryche fans truly love!  I only hope to have a singer of his caliber in my own band.  Russ is very controlled, he seems to know his abilities and utilizes them to the fullest capabilities, he's always at DEFCOM 1.

    As far as the guitar work, its simply mind boggling!  They don't bore you to death like Dream Theater does after a while.  Don't get me wrong D.T. is one of my favorite bands, but they start to sound the same after a while and their truly a band for musicians.  Where as Ion Vein can appeal to the masses of listeners.  Chris and John is a modern day Dave Murray and Adrian Smith or Glen Tipton and K.K. Downing pairing; trade off leads are in about every song. Chris is a very moody, modal and speedy and John is a fast, Pentatonic, and  scaly player that uses very tasty lines.  They are a perfect fit for this band.  Plus they don't suffer from the lead guitarist syndrome at all.  They really now how to share the lead spots in the songs.  Did I mention their riffs are pretty intricate and sound difficult to play? As far as bass goes, its great.

    Brian Gordon jams, shreds, and lays a solid groove down.  Very upbeat and moving.  Never a stale, "bass player is going to fall asleep now" note.  He also follows the drums a lot, which in this day and age is somewhat rare.  Defiantly a bassist to check out.  I set new standards after hearing him play! Last but not least Scott.  Um, my mouth was wide open after hearing the monster play those skins.  I wanna now how he got his feet to stay on while recording this CD.  He is a very open ended player.  Scott utilizes all pieces of his kit, which is 15 pieces.  Ya, I'm serious 15 pieces.  I've seen them live, the kit is huge!  Lots of double bass too; I'm a double bass nut sorry folks.

   These guys have so much to say its not even funny.  Everything is stellar on this CD.  You couldn't ask for anything more.  This is the best local / independent release that I have ever heard.  Very professional.  A lot of though went into the making of these songs.  Not many bands in the mainstream industry put forth the effort that Vein does.  Not to mention local bands.  These guys are the top metal act in the Chicago area.  Strike that make it the best new independent  metal act in the USA.  Wait, the world is more like it! This CD gets a 100 out of 10, just cuz it kicks some much butt!  It never gets old, I listen to it like 4 time through before taking it out.  These guys are the new metal tough guys.  Give em a try, you'll have a new favorite.  On with the track reviews...

     Track one, "Horizons", kicks.  Its an instrumental intro.  Very moving keyboard lines, cool keyboard melody. Then come the power 5ths on a guitar.  There is even a little slow speed gallop guitar line it it.  It is the coolest intro on a CD I've heard since a few Helloween CDs ago.   Really sets the stage for the whole disc.

     Track two, "Reflections Unclear", jams.  Cool beginning, a rocking head banging fell to it.  Reminds me of Iron Maiden.  Then jumps into a proggressivish movement.  Check out 00:38, Chris does a cool melodic lead.  Very tasty and clean.  Then comes in Russ, a slow vocal verse to start, then he kicks up for the chorus, he really gets hits the high notes just before the middle solo section.  The guitar riffing kicks during the chorus as well, 2:14.  The solo rocks, thanks John.  A very cool solo.  I love the first part of it 2:44-2:50.  The rest of it just flows like syrup, never strays, just keeps going.   Dude, at 3:35-3:42 we get a bass grove riff!  It just doesn't end. You truly get it all in this song.  Check out rocking riffin at 4:07.  Then to finish the track we get a real metal scream from Russ.

     Track tree, "Fading Shadows", just kick so much butt!  This is a express way driving song!  Get it in high gear and drive 90 mph, whizzing by all the other traffic.  Cool  bass intro from Brian, lots of chorus and reverb too it.  Then Russ comes in with a few very moody vocal lines.  Then comes the guitar onslaught.  Missiles and bombs hitting every were.  Duck and run, cuz the riffs at 00:52 are going to mow you down like a bulldozer.  Can you just see that bulldozer chasing you!  Well it will smack the hell out of you.  Put those fists in the air and pump them, like its the last metal song your ever going to hear!  Dude, it is the SH#T!!!  Cool lyrics as well.  A very radio friendly song.  Feel free to sing along with Russ on this one! More riffing at 3:36  Johns lead comes in at 4:03, very melodic, he rings a few notes out nicely.   There is even a few trem bar uses in it.  Give the drums at 4:56 smoking.  Then the outro lead is by Chris very tasty, it fallows along with the vocals very nicely.

     Track four, "Heart of the Matter", for the first time brings the pace down.  Some have called this the wussy song, but its far from from.  I love the lyrics in this song.  Its a very clean tune.  i think I hear a nylon string guitar in there.  At 2:00 the song picks up pace a little just before the solo comes in.  Chris provides a very cool solo.  Nice intro run into some cool phrasing with bends.  Very up and down solo, speed up, slow down and so on.  Builds up to a peak then finished nicely.  The song remains upbeat and moving through out.  This track really get to show off some of Russ's vocal abilities.  He can be a very emotional singer.

     Track five, "Static Visions", is on of my favorite tracks.  It has a slow gallop line through out most of the track.   Again, Russ really stands out on this track.  Brian does some cool bass lines during momentary pauses.  Ok, check out Russ's scream at 2:05, NICE!  Cool trade of lead section in this track.  This is were the maiden and priest reverence comes in they trade off so nicely.   This might just be my favorite solo section on the disc.

     Track six, The Bridge Of Dawn", open with a cool sustain keyboard chord, then that nylon string again I believe.  Great solo at 00:51 preformed by John.  Very melodic and locks with the rhythm line well.  Drums are great in this one, they truly keep the song moving along with the massive guitar riffing.  Then John shredds out a great lead at 1:57.  Man he just kicks.  Then comes Chris in at 2:35, he wins the coolest solo beginning line contest with this one.  He constantly builds this solo.  Each part overlapping the last, or should I say out doing.  Nice ending vocal lines as well to finish it off.  I really dig the bass riffing at 4:04 +.  And we finish the track with a speedy rhythm and Russ's excellent vocal range 4:38+.  You can really see his range till the end of the track. Ok, check out 5:23 GO RUSS!!!!

     Track seven, "Beyond Tomorrow", is the title track.  This title fits, because Ion Vein is taking metal beyond today and tomorrow and to the next level of intelligent heavy metal music.  The Guitar is flawless in this one.  Bass jams like no tomorrow as well.  Russ's vocal lines in my opinion shine through best on this track.  He does it all on this one!  The lyrics are very catchy.  Defiantly a new metal anthem for a stadium to sing along with.  Cool lead builder at 2:40, it really sets it up quite well.  Chris tears it up in this song at 2:53.  Neat lead lines, very organized and precise.  It really gets to the point. Then John goes nuts at the end of the track at 3:37. He pulls out all the stops and really drives it over the limits.  John really stands out with this lead, its one of my favorites on the disc. This would make a great show stopper.

     Then last by certainly not least, the title track "Beyond Tomorrow" rocks.  Starts out slow then builds and jams. Bang that head!  Cool lyrics in this song:  "Fight to see the world beyond your dreams, Live to see the world beyond tomorrow"

Those two lines really stick with you the whole song.  It make you stop and think. Then at 3:26 Chris goes off again.  Man is this one worth the wait!  Builds nicely, and then he executes the speedy runs with barely any effort.  AT 4:01 a near keyboard line comes in, with the Dream Theater on steroids guitar riffing that finishes the song out.

     Well what can I say, or can I say more!  This disc is just unbeileble.  I'm so glad I stumbled onto these guys. It was funny how I got into this band.  The short of it was a me and a friend went to go see Iced Earth two summers ago and wouldn't be let into the venue (a certain place near the Indiana border, in Lansing that will remain nameless, THEY REALLY DON'T LIKE ALL AGES SHOWS!)  Since we couldn't get in we hung out outside, and hung with members of Iced Earth (yea, we made out better than the people in the show!) So we were chillin out, and out comes this skinny long haired dude.  My friend though he recognized him form one of the bands.  He introduced him self as Brian Gordon, bassist for the opening band Ion Vein.  We could here them from outside, it sounded like a "Warning Era Queensryche."  So he asked us if we'd like to buy a CD.  That was the best thing we could of did that night. Brian was so overly nice to us and felt out pain of not getting into the show.  Ever since then I keep in contact with these guys.

     I can't wait for the new record to come out.   I'm going nuts,  with Ion Vein fever!  I know for a fact the next disc will surpass this one, because these guys have a real fresh new angle on the music they play.  So many styles influence their playing abilities and I think that is their key to success. They are truly a very magical act, in their own.  I would really miss this CD from my collection.  It is one that really hits close to home with me.  Musicianship is superb.  Guitars just fly the whole way through, just as everything else does.  So please if you know whats good for you, please purchase this record.  It will be the best $12.00 you spent in a long time.  Trust me.  Their lives shows are just action packed as well.  They all have a very good stage presence, and that really counts.  You see all those funny guitar player faces throughout the show.  Brian just jams up there.  Scott, I just want to know how the stage supports all his equipment, and the constant pound of the freight train like drums.  Russ... Lets just say move over Geoff Tate cuz a new gunslinger is in town, and he's got the edge.  The only negative thing I could say about this disc is that the sound production could have been a little better.  But remember this record came out of their pocket money so studio and mastering time can be super super expensive.  Please overlook that minor drawback and enjoy the great music. So again this CD gets a off the scale 100 out of 10 on a scale from -10 to 10.  Just go buy the damn thing, you'll know what I'm talking about.  I really gotta to learn how to play these songs.

Side note...  Recently, Bassist Brian Gordon has resigned as bassist of Ion Vein, to pursue other musical interests with the Dave Shankle Group. Were really going to miss your playing Brian, but good luck with your new new venture, I know you'll still be tearing it up.

"Fight to see the world beyond your dreams
Live to see the world beyond tomorrow"