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Concreteweb.be - july 2009 Not really knowing the bands music before I was extremely positively surprised and a good sign of quality is when a release gets better and better with time. Ulysses’ The Gift Of Tears is a progressive metal album in the vein of Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Symphony X. It's not as hard and heavy as those bands can be, but it comes close at times. It's nearly as complex, however, and fans of those bands will appreciate the intricacies of the band's songwriting and musicianship. The songs are lengthy, sophisticated and emotionally charged. “Family portrait” is a powerful, thoughtful opener, pulsing with slow motion hooks, peppered with majestic Dream Theater/Fates Warning moments and enjoying a frequent switch of emphasis to the acceptable face of progressive rock. The keyboards are of the modern variety rather than the neo-classical style that seems to crop up on nearly ever power metal CD these days. Two ballads are featured within the record, one encompasses the emotion in mysterious pastures titled “Lost” while the other, the piano ballad, “Silence of the night” conceives a more stripped down approach. “Anat” and “How mch more” are long epic tracks with lots of exciting passages. Strong and dramatic vocal parts, hymn-like keyboard melodies, fantastic and technical drums, central bass passages with lots of depth, and amazing guitar lead melodies, supported by a powerful rhythm section are some of many highlights. 87/100 Peter Brems. Concreteweb.be

Metal-experience.com
Date: 12-06-2009
Language: UK

Themayfairmallzine.com
Date: 30-05-2009
Language: UK

Fireworks Magazine (pdf)
Date: may 2009
Language: NL

Rockarea.eu
Date: 27-03-2009
Language: UK & Polish

Heavyhardes.de
Date: 19-03-2009
Language: UK & DE

Noord Hollands dagblad (image)
Date: 12-11-2008
Language: NL