Style: Power metal, Traditional progressive metal, Symphonic metal (Clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Dream Theater, Stratovarius
Country: France
Release date: 21 November 2025

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The late 90s and early 2000s, as some may remember (I was but a vague thought in my parents’ minds in 1997), oversaw the Gordian Knot of progressive music’s next evolution. As radical as it was for Alexander the Great to unsheathe his sword and solve the knot by simply cutting it in half, Rhapsody and Symphony X might have stunned traditional power metal fans by seamlessly inserting technical rhythm, grandiose composition reinforced by synth, and some downright zany plotlines for intrigue. Seriously, how do I tell my friends Rhapsody’s 1997 – 2011 nine-album run was a melodrama about a guy named fucking Dargor, the “Shadowlord”? The question these neoclassical newcomers sought to answer, presumably, was simple: How can we refresh an existing formula without entirely folding to gimmicks?

Enter Forgotten Reveries by Darktribe, the French quartet’s return to their self-described “prog metal food for the mind” after their previous LP, Voici l’Homme. Voici l’Homme stood proudly as a journey-through-the-desert-to-find-salvation think-piece, often wearing Stratovarius and Helloween influences on their sleeve with straightforward and catchy tracks. Long-time power metal listeners could categorize it as derivative, but would equally struggle resisting shower karaoke to “Prism of Memory”. Despite the immaculate vibes of driving, stand-out tracks like “Back in Light”, the LP ran out of steam in its second half before rushing to the finish line in the bruising, chuggy “Symbolic Story”. While a notable record, Voici l’Homme left an opportunity on the table to cement their place in a busy scene, with over-the-top reaction-farming building momentum in the post-2020 world. Wind Rose of “Diggy Diggy Hole” fame was once under the Scarlet Records banner, so the pressure to be novel might have creeped into the next release.

The marketing for Forgotten Reveries – a record label statement amplified on Bandcamp and various Meta social media – promised a life changing and philosophically crushing album. Awaiting me was purportedly a personal journey from childhood hope to adult despair, culminating in an extreme fate: “[losing] your mind”. Is this a concept album?? my prog-rot brain wonders. Ambitious bands often swing for a home run in originality and “concepts” bring all the boys to the yard. It certainly got me interested, but you live and die by the hype. I expect nothing less than the band itself delivering metaphysical insight into our existence on this mortal coil.

Sonically, Forgotten Reveries represents a mature step forward lifted by individual performances and tight composition. Anthony Agnello’s vocals immediately stand out, boasting a Fabio Lione (ex-Rhapsody, Angra) range with the contemporary savvy of Roy Khan (ex-Kamelot, Conception) guiding intricate lines to satisfying conclusions. The guitar work by Loïc Manuello often takes a modern, groovy direction and honors the Almighty Riff. Very scant single note alternate picking in the dark tribe, barring a few circumstances like the “Ghost Memories” verse and post-chorus. With rhythm laid down by Bruno Caprani (bass) and newcomer Guillaume Morero (drums), Darktribe’s instrumental gestalt nods to influences without compromising originality: percussive, bouncy verses (“Mornings of Fear”), but not Symphony X; melodeath-esque double-time runs (“The Fallen World”), but not Insomnium; stomping choruses (“Sicilian Danza”), but not Sabaton. To further credit the composition, nothing feels forced. Forgotten Reveries exhibits keen restraint in not allowing the strings and brass horns to overshadow the band itself, enhancing the riff rather than making it. This discernment lets the album flow better by providing timely space and bridging ideas where stacking them next to each other might otherwise have sounded messy. 

The lyrical content leads a thoughtful continuity of regret, time, and distance delivered in a hopefully despondent way that transcends the standard vagueness of power metal. “The Fallen World” delicately illustrates the degradation of a society under siege through a child’s eyes, witnessing even the eldest grow nihilistic, without sounding heavy handed in a Dream Theater kind of way.¹ Songs do, however, occasionally stumble through a few symbolic tropes to convey the intended meaning: “Eden and Eclipse” punctuating its chorus with “Do not turn your eyes away from your savior / do not turn away from the face of a cross” tricked me into thinking Spotify shuffled into a Theocracy album. Equally confounding was the subsequent “From Star to Dust” wasting no time sampling a shuttle launch and placing us in the mind of a lonely space traveller:

“All humanity is looking after me
But I can’t describe what I can believe
Thе moonlight for eternity”

Are we going to find Space Jesus? Who knows, but what the hell—this is prog, so strap in!²

Darktribe’s tour de force waves goodbye to influences and embraces their own niche without losing the plot in a gobbledygook of clashing dynamics. That’s not to say that power metal tropes aren’t present—they are—but I can’t help feeling enamored when these elements do say hello. This output is engaging from start to finish despite some odd thematic juxtaposition and track-by-track pacing: “Kings In the Sand” relatively lacking compositional and vocal dynamics interrupts the momentum ahead of the symphonic RIPPER “Mornings of Fear”. I would have also preferred the mix didn’t bury Bruno Caprani’s attacking bass tone (that’s just nitpicking). We didn’t reinvent the powerprog wheel with this one, but there is proof here of a refreshing entry in the subgenre’s universe. I certainly do not regret listening to the album. Neither should you.

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Recommended tracks: “Mornings of Fear”, “I Walk Alone”, “Ghost Memories”
You may also like: Sarayasign, Sacred Outcry, Black Majesty
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Scarlet Records

Darktribe is:
– Anthony Agnello (vocals)
– Loïc Manuello (guitar, keyboard)
– Bruno Caprani (bass)
– Guillaume Morero (drums)

1. Might I divert your attention to “The Shadow Man Incident“?
2. I understand the overall theme of the song is distance between loved ones… but the John F. Kennedy moon speech sample made this one feel much more literal.