I feel like I have much to write about Fragment Soul’s new album. This is their sophomore release, and I’ll admit that I wasn’t immediately taken with it, as I was with the debut. But slowly and over the course of weeks, this album has begun to take hold of my mind. It is called Galois Paradox and it releases on February 23rd.
I hope you remember Greece’s Fragment Soul and their 2021 debut album Axiom of Choice. It was in my top 10 of that year, and would remain there even now. The band offered a progressive metal mixed liberally with doom, and the results were exactly what I wanted. It also featured one of my favorite vocalists, Heike Langhans, as the co-vocalist. The band has changed since then, and the current lineup includes Spiros Georgiou on bass, Jimmy Louvros on guitars, Marc Durkee on vocals, Tamara Filipovic on vocals, Stefanos Meletiou on drums, and Achilles Adamidis on keys. You may recognize Tamara from her 2022 EP under the name Vila, which is a hauntingly good work, too; and her guest vocals on ISON’s Aurora.
Here’s the thing about this album. It is significantly different than the debut, though not on the surface. On Axiom of Choice, the album had a crystal-clear river of flowing melodies and intricate guitar portions. It was written, not in a straightforward manner necessarily, but certainly in one that was instantly familiar. With Galois Paradox, the sound is still a mix of prog metal and doom, but there are more hovering moments, more musing measures, and the song structures often feel amorphous and abstract. In fact, the album as a whole feels rather theoretical and hazy.
Now, this isn’t a bad thing. There is more darkness here, more sorrow and strife, I think. The Galois Paradox refers to the death of Évariste Galois, a genius French mathematician who died at the age of 20 but who left a great mark on his field. The story here is not about him specifically, but is written with the same problem in mind: how can one so gifted or so beautiful die so tragically and so early? So, the album is about death and love and longing, and you will feel this in your bones.
Galois Paradox isn’t a long record, though. It’s just shy of 30 minutes in length, which some would call an EP. However, it feels very much like a fully realized work and so an album it is. As I mentioned, I had some trouble getting into this one at first, in finding the key that would unlock it for me. That rushed upon me last week, though, and I feel that the album will only grow on me more and more from here.
It has five tracks, all of which are good to great. The opener “Eternal Night in Death” is one of my favorites, with its contrast between floating vocal portions from Tamara, rhythmic instrumental segments, and the expressive chorus sung by Marc. The album keeps moving with “All That I Despise”, which has some of the most gracious grooves but also the heaviest riffs; that one is really growing on me. “The Pain Ceased” comes next with its wonderful blend of prog and doom, some of Tamara’s best moments, and a strangely drawn out yet addictive chorus.
I’ll admit that this is where the album falters somewhat. “A Faceless God” is the longest song on the album by a few seconds, and I do feel like it is the weakest overall. It is a good song with some great transitions and powerful lyrics, and the first half of it is actually terrific, but I feel the second half languishes somewhat in the same riff over and over without going anywhere. It is a good thing, then, that the album closes with “This Empty Dream”, what amounts to a piano-led ballad from Tamara. She completely owns it, too, and nails the ending of the album with a song that is both cold and numb and also emotional and aching. It’s definitely a highlight.
Overall, this is a great second album from Fragment Soul. It isn’t one that will grab you immediately, but as you wander into its heartache and shadows, you’ll find a bewitching sense of humanity and enigma. Something will grasp your mind on the first listen that brings you back for more, something mysterious and beautiful. Oh, and here’s hoping that the first album gets a vinyl release soon.
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Find Fragment Soul online:
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The PROG Mind 