TOMORROW’S EVE – Mirror of Creation 2: Genesis II

Lion Music, a label out of Finland, has brought out yet another fine Progressive Metal release. It turns out that if you are a fan of this particular genre (Progressive Metal) then you don’t have to look any further than Lion music. They have been signing bands and releasing some of the finest Progressive and Melodic Metal music over the last few years. It appears that with Tomorrow’s Eve they may have hit a home run.

Tomorrow’s Eve was founded in 1998 in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Interestingly enough, this band has had a different line-up for each of its studio album releases: three releases to date. Here is a quick discography summary for Tomorrow’s Eve … 1999 – The Unexpected World, the band’s first album was composed and recorded at the Bazement (Basement) Studios in Wiesbaden, Germany, and before long they got a deal with the label B. Mind Records in Berlin, Germany. The release came in October 2000 with the official line-up (according to the album) consisting of the following musicians: Peter Webel (vocals), Rainer Grund (guitars), Oliver Schwickert (keyboards), Sascha Hilles (bass), and Ralf Gottlieb (drums). Tomorrow’s Eve surprised everyone with this debut album and were hailed as the new German Prog Metal sensations. The second album, Mirror Of Creation, began in mid-2001 and was completed by the end of that year. It was recorded April through June 2002, again at the Bazement (Basement) Studios, and was officially released in March/April of 2003.

In June 2002, Ralf and Sascha decided to leave the band because of personal stress. In September 2002, Peter became another casualty. Replacements needed to come quickly as possible, and Peter was replaced right away, as luck would have it. His replacement was a vocalist named Rouven Bitz. A new line-up (consisting of Rainer Grund, Oliver Schwickert, and Rouven Bitz) for Tomorrow’s Eve was complete, according to the band. When playing live, they would find guest musicians to take on the bass and drum responsibilities. By this time, B. Mind Records discontinued production and Tomorrow’s Eve had to find a new label. Again, lady luck played part in their fate and Mirror Of Creation was released on TWS-Source Of Deluge (SOD) Records in 2003. By the time Tomorrow’s Eve finished creating Mirror Of Creation, it turned into a 70-minute concept album.

The band’s line-up changed slightly by replacing Sascha Hilles with Rene Muller on bass. Ralf was replaced with Oliver Jungmann on drums for a very short while who eventually left to join Demons Seed sometime in 2003. It turns out that Oliver Jungmann and Rene Muller had other aspirations and the new rhythm section turned out to be Chris Doerr on bass and Tom Diener on drums. In November 2004, a new vocalist named Martin LeMar began to rehearse songs with Tomorrow’s Eve. It was just a matter of time before he completed the band. To put it mildly, a lot went on with Tomorrow’s Eve from the time they released their debut album to the time they started working on their third and most recent album.

The band’s latest and highly anticipated follow-up is Mirror Of Creation 2 – Genesis II, released on September 22, 2006 by Lion Music. The new album was mixed and recorded at SU-2 Studios in Illingen, Germany. It also has guest vocalist Jennie Kloos appearing on 2 tracks, and guest keyboard player Vivien Lalu and special guest appearance by Joshua Grund taking part in a respective track as well.

This answered some of the questions placed upon them by the band’s response with Mirror Of Creation 2 – Genesis II. Whether or not Tomorrow’s Eve has progressed or gotten better from MOC to MOC 2 is something that has been debated by many already. The fact is that you can’t say any other than the band sounds different than they did previously. That’s it! Bottom line! With all the personnel shuffling, turmoil, and revamping going on over the years, how can you accurately assess and answer the question on whether or not the band has progressed? If you change musicians (especially as often as Tomorrow’s Eve does), you are going to get a different sound. When Tomorrow’s Eve comes out with two or three releases in a row with the same line-up of musicians, only then can their progression be accurately assessed. As far as talent is concerned, they are all good musicians and have complemented each other nicely to produce good sounding albums.

Focusing on the musical aspects of Mirror Of Creation 2 – Genesis II, there is one thing that stands out right away and takes the band to the next level — the addition of Martin LeMar. He without doubt brought new life into Tomorrow’s Eve with his powerful, aggressive, and intense singing voice. The band retained its heaviness, if not turned it up a bit. The album is your typical Progressive Metal style, being melodic at times and heavy at others. It has a great overall sound from beginning to end. There’s really no comparison of this band to the others out there. It is Progressive Metal … what else is there to say other than it’s a concept album sequel to a concept album. It has all the ingredients of a good Prog Metal LP: heavy bass, impressive drumming with equally noticeable cymbal work, synthesized keyboards that are intense as well as mellow when fitting, and the same can be said for the piano work, strong powerful vocals that take charge, killer shredding on the guitar, heavy riffs, mind-blowing solos at all levels — all being played by talented musicians. Albeit that Rainer Grund is no John Petrucci, and Chris Doerr is no John Myung … one can see where this is going … in the end, if you like this particular genre of music, go out and treat yourself to a new experience!