September Code need to concentrate on the oddness, the grit in the pearl; until then, this is in a conveyor belt.

"Must fight back. Mustn't let it win... what was that? Did you hear it? Tight riffing, coming down the hall, nearer, nearer, tempo changes...it's here!"

There's a struggle going on in Greek band September Code. On this third release, they are battling the forces of Prog Metal, that ubiquitous sound; they have a pseudo Arabian feel (or the way they think Arabic music should sound perhaps) in opener 'Self Crisis', they break out the melody to make 'You May Leave Now' a bit special and Dim Koskinas even scats alongside an eighties synth line and spidery guitar on the appealingly odd 'Cause Key'.

But when they fall into the clutches of Papa Prog Metal, the outcome is often boredom – whispered vocals and bombastic aimlessness of 'Blank', the contemplative verse/big chorus/contemplative verse of 'Physital' and the modern airy Marillion feel of 'Aftermath'.

There's a band here looking to break the shackles of what's expected of them. There's a band here content to nestle among the cosy confines of what people expect. At the moment this stymies enjoyment somewhat, as there are loads of bands who do that Metal with Prog thing, and a lot better actually. September Code need to concentrate on the oddness, the grit in the pearl; until then, this is in a conveyor belt...

Steve Swift