Maraton – Meta

8/10

MARATON is:
Fredrik Bergersen – Vocals
Jon Vegard Næss – Guitar
Magnus Johansen – Keyboards
Vegard Liverød – Bass
Frank Nordeng Røe – Drums

For those who found last year’s “Simulation Theory” a bit too synth pop and miss the Muse of old, the debut album from these Norwegian prog rockers will be sure to hit the right spot.

Maraton got to perform at Denmark’s legendary Roskilde Festival after the release of only one single and they’ve also supported the likes of countrymen Enslaved, Leprous and Circus Maximus before making this album. The hype surrounding the release made me a bit suspicious but after hearing it, I can only admit that they deliver the goods!

“Meta” is an album for fans of the Muse era that brought us “Origin of Symmetry”, “Absolution” and “Black Holes and Revelations”. Filled with catchy melodies, odd time signatures and heavy riffs, the soaring vocals of Fredrik Bergersen Klemp is simply the icing on an already delicious cake.

The Oslo based band claims to build on the rhythmic heaviness of The Mars Volta and Meshuggah but this is less apparent to these ears. The closest they get to said ambition is probably on “Altered State” and “Body Double”. In general, this album is much easier on the ears, though they certainly do provide a refreshingly rhythmic and complex background to the pop friendly song melodies.  “Meta” as a whole is modern progressive music as it’s finest and should thus appeal to those who liked “Applause of a Distant Crowd” and “Vector“, last year’s albums from VOLA and Haken, as well as the latest from Coheed and Cambria.

This album really is pretty solid throughout it’s nine tracks, making it hard to single out a song that stands out in the crowd. You could, however, certainly do worse than checking out the album track “Change of Skin” in addition to the singles “Blood Music” and “Mosaic”. This is good stuff!

Maraton – Meta

Band: Maraton
Title: Meta
Label: Indie Recordings
Date of release: 2019-04-26
Rating: 8/10
Standout track: Blood Music