Maitreya - New World Prophecy

Maitreya is the Buddha of the future, a savior figure who will return to Earth to do good things, unite people, and so on. Quite a lofty name for a band. Whether this Swedish outfit will save metal remains to be seen, but its debut certainly shows promise.

Opeth comes to mind – death metal with melodic, proggy passages. Maitreya isn’t as heavy, though and its light parts are lighter. The clean vocals are pleasing, as are the subtle keys and acoustic guitars. Songs range from three to 10 minutes in length. The longer ones are quite mature, with gently rolling grooves. True to the band’s name, the lyrics describe an apocalyptic future, with the possibility of rebirth. The production is clean and crisp. For having been written when the band was a two-piece, the album shows great vision.

“Why isn’t this band signed yet?” also comes to mind. Has it really been shopping this record for two years? Maybe #1 contributes to #2, but Opeth is hardly a bad band to emulate. It’s certainly a better touchstone than the cookie-cutter metalcore that labels are still signing. This band writes lovely songs; give it time, and it may serve up some Deliverance. You can order this CD directly from the band.