Artension - Future World (2004)

I've never really got into Artension, and they're not much of the power metal variety either, so they probably didn't really need to be in this blog, but since this is their last album, I thought I'd see them through, since I've got all their CDs, and then I'll list them on Ebay. Well, I've actually just done that, so all their albums are available for sale at Doc's CDs as of now. :-)
Vitalij Kuprig continues to dominate with his exceptional keyboard work (from electronics to piano, he can do it all) and, together with John West's vocals, Artension does have something of a unique sound. Unlike some bands, they don't merge with two dozen others. But the material just doesn't leap out at me much.
Having said they're not really power metal, the opening song here, "Dark Before The Dawn", is fast, as is "Stand & Fight" later, but whatever genre they might be put into, while they're professional at what they do, and I can see why some people would appreciate them, this just isn't really my kind of thing, which is a shame, since keyboard-dominated rock should, in theory, do more for me.
Ah well. It's a diverse world.

**1/2