A fine example of persistence – just feel the love.

There are soap operas and there are Rock bands. Rarely do these different paths cross yet, occasionally, there are some bands whose offstage antics are as interesting as the music they produce. Insert the name of the band(s) you're thinking of here and then add U.K.-based Awake By Design to that list, for the story which lies behind the evolution of 'Carve The Sun' (their second release following the 2009 debut 'Sentiment') is one which (a) is far too long to reproduce here and (b) up there with the most interesting of them.

Suffice to say, having travelled a rocky road liberally strewn with having to deal with the hardships of ever changing band members alongside multiple studio and management issues before being able to finally procure this release, the overwhelming feeling is one of relief. A feeling which you can almost sense comes across in the music that is a blend of Symphonic and Melodic Metal literally straining at the leash to be heard.

'Carve...' is all about the full sound of a two guitar and keyboard fuelled band which allows them to paint a picture of sound which shifts from the heavy to the epic with a touch of the sensitive thrown in for good measure. In fact, once the chorus to 'I' has kicked in after a minute, you can almost imagine one of the Queens of Symphonic Rock/Metal pitching in – think Within Temptation and Nightwish and you're not far off – and that's a compliment to vocalist Adrian Powell and the band with their arrangements. 'Tired Of Angels' follows in a similar vein before 'Falling On Me' shows they can do the "acoustic/overblown" combo which also evokes elements of the more ambitious Iron Maiden style of writing.

Power ballad territory gets a box ticking with 'Yesterday's Rain' – the title even sounds like it fits the genre – while 'World Of Mirrors' takes the pace down even more in a sensitive acoustic guitar/piano arrangement. They've obviously had of plenty time to think about the track sequencing which comes into play as they offer a brief respite of calm before the storm which is 'From Disgraced Land'. Opinion may be divided on closing out with the tranquillity of 'Out Of Line' rather than a more memorable bang. It may err towards the latter as the heavier material is probably where their aptitude lies.

For an album which actually had a launch event back in September 2012, it's hard to imagine the journey the music has taken to get to released and how it's been knitted together with painstaking care and precision. A fine example of persistence – just feel the love.

Mike Ainscoe