Conception are responsible for releasing two of my favourite albums from the progressive metal genre: In Your Multitude, and Flow. After the release of Flow, Roy Khan left to join US band Kamelot. This, in my opinion was a huge step backward as they were nowhere near the quality of Conception, but (what do I know?), he stayed with them for nearly twenty years. Tore Ostby went on to form Ark, with the amazing Jorn Lande. Then after twenty years, Khan left Kamelot and Conception was back up and running with the release of the EP, My Dark Symphony, and then recording this beauty, State Of Deception.
So after all these years, can the band still cut it? Well, the answer is a resounding: YES! Roy Khan’s vocals still sound as epic as ever, and Ostby’s guitar sound and riffs are better than ever. Waywardly Broken is what I’ve been missing for all these years. Huge fat guitar sound and that voice! No Rewind is as epic as I remember. Super epic riffs and complicated grooves is what I like, and this track delivers huge. If you are a lover of the grandiose operatic style of tune, then The Mansion will be right up your street. Lovers of old Conception won’t be disappointed with She Dragoon, as it feels like a track from In Your Multitude, with that deliciously twisted riff that only Ostby can do.
Is this record on par with my two favourite releases? Honestly, I would say no, but those two albums are exceptional releases and this is a really good album – it just doesn’t quite reach the heights of those two. Hopefully they will carry on, as my musical world is much better for having them in it.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
