Ostura hails from Lebanon. The band consists of Elia Monsef on vocals, Danny Bou-Maroun on keys and orchestration, Youmna Jreissati on vocals, Alain Ibrahim on guitars, and Alex Abi Chaker on drums. The album features a huge list of guest performers, including Arjen Anthony Lucassen himself on guitar, Michael Mills on vocals, Thomas Lang on drums, Dan Veall on bass, Marco Sfogli on guitar, Ozgur Abbak on guitar, Yamane Al Hage on violin, Jokine Solban on violin, Nobuko Miyazaki on flute, Mohannad Nassar on oud, and Roger Smith on cello. On top of that, The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and also The Lebanese Filmscoring Ensemble provide orchestrations. I know all of that sounds overwhelming, and this album, in all honesty, is exactly that.
The musical style is progressive metal, but there is so much more going on here. While the almighty riff is present and very well composed, the album is not just a collection of riffs thrown together. No, “The Room” is a cinematic journey of emotional gravity and grand vision, and it could almost be called just as much “classical” as it can be called “metal”. The album includes huge orchestrations that might even dwarf the heavy guitars in their weight, and these orchestrations are prevalent in every single song. The album also features both male and female vocalists, as well as choirs. The storytelling nature of the album means that each tracks spills into the next perfectly and deliberately. Overall, Ostura doesn’t try to act like a metal band, and that is perhaps their greatest strength.
Ostura’s “The Room” will literally make you feel like you were put through the musical wringer, and you will love the experience. Again, it is definitely an album that needs to be heard a few times in order to grasp the full weight of the production, the massive compositions, and the stunning art direction. If you are a fan of prog metal, this is a no-brainer. If you like amazing melodies and cinematic progressive music of any type, this is the release to watch so far this year.
Source: The Prog Mind
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