Tellus Requiem hails from Norway and yields a progressive power metal mold very similar to that of Symphony X's. The band's efforts throughout "Invictus (The 11th Hour)," however valiant they may be, are ultimately lacking and sub-par. Tellus Requiem's songs are very much in league with what the standard progressive power metal gospel preaches, especially mirroring several aspects of Symphony X's guitar and songwriting genetics. The postulate they present certainly has its glimmers of brilliance, but Tellus Requiem also has this annoying tendency to oil up insipid songs that run way too long and remain flashy yet anticlimactic. The album is an instrumental exercise of one's patience layered deep in the honest roots of progressive metal, with technical and perplexing acrobatics all over the place; however, it's incredibly tiresome and fundamentally lacking in the eyes of cohesive songwriting. "Invictus" is the type of album that scorches like an inferno when things are hot but freezes itself to the bone when that consistency dries up. They immediately start things off with a progressive frenzy of fantastic riffs akin to Michael Romeo's guitar work (again conjuring that Symphony X image) on "Red Horizon," which is from start to finish blazingly catchy, fun, energetic, and excellent. Oh yes, a song like this just hits the spot: the production compliments the keyboard action and overall instrumental balance perfectly. The title track also burns on an amazing chorus with rapid riffs running underneath the soothing and unique vocal chimes of Ben Rodgers, who proves to be a satisfactory singer in this type of field. The chemistry overall generally feels like Tellus Requiem knows the ins and outs of performing complicated music as such, but the journey isn't all fun and games, sadly.
As much as I hate to say it, the great songs are few and far between, and the norm overall seems to be ruled by long, redundant flops of vapid progressive metal. "Reflections Remain" and "Tranquility," the record's two ballads which run for almost fifteen minutes combined, are simply awful: they flutter and twitch around like any predictable ballad penned under the banner of bovine, elongated sappiness does or would. Many of the remaining numbers are a little more passablethey aren't trapped in that shallow emotional whirlpool ruining the group's balladsyet there's still too much askew. Looking at the song "Twilight Hour" makes me think of an invisible vacuum of nothingness; that's precisely the impact it has. "Sands of Gold" and "Eden Burns" have some extra worth, but not enough. They provide acceptable riffs and choruses and keyboards and drums and other stuff which all falls under the Symphony X-ish umbrella, but without its shelter, I'm afraid.
They use "Dies Irae" to shut in and lock out "Invictus" for good, which segues the excellent titular track into a wooden orchestral/instrumental-based piece, thus ending the opus in a habitat it is all too familiar with. I feel a little bad harping on the band in such a negative light, as it sequentially delivers decent, even fantastic material. However, the total picture, regardless of how complex and perplexing it appears to be, is usually flat and very few things actually happen that are worth mentioning. The performances aren't lame; the overall atmosphere remains consistent; and the group is clearly comfortable in their own skin. Tellus Requiem's songs, though, jeopardize adequate songwriting for flare, and the tradeoff leaves an album lacking and grasping for anything it can sink its claws into.