With so many progressive and symphonic metal bands appearing seemingly from nowhere, it seems unlikely that Sons of Seasons will find uncharted areas to approach with their debut full-length, but these Germans might enjoy a challenge.

‘Gods of Vermin’ is impressive for a modern prog/symphonic metal debut. The feature that marks this band from faceless others is the dark vein running through their music. Guitars are surprisingly heavy in places such as on the title track and keyboards have a penchant for turning eerie, as recognised on ‘Fallen Family’.

The main draw-back of this release is the vocals of Henning Basse. His clean voice is unusual and dark but his growls and shouts, like those on ‘Belial’s Tower’, seem like a poor short cut to make the music appear more eldritch and angry. They sound far too forced for the naturally mysterious music.

This is definitely a band worth keeping an eye on in the future - they clearly have a barrage of fresh ideas to experiment with. Fans of Symphony X, Kamelot and even Nevermore would most likely find this CD worth picking up.

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