This is how I revisited Extension of the Wish, the debut album from progressive power metal band Andromeda: at top volume as I ran strikes playing Destiny.  I’m not sure this is exactly how the band intended their music to be consumed, but old fashioned keyboard heavy prog metal tendencies worked great as I blasted the Scorn, Fallen, Cabal, and other assorted alien weirdos across the galaxy.

About a tear ago I covered this album for Nine Circles as I went through my Binder of Forgotten Metal.  Back then I had this to say:

Back when I was getting my metal feet wet, labels were just as important as magazines like Decibel or Terrorizer.  Century Media was something I went to look for when I was brushing up on my early education, which is probably what brought me to Andromeda’s Extension of the Wish.  Progressive metal with plenty of guitar wizardry and clean soaring vocals are the order of the day here, with keyboards giving everything a techno shine that mirrors the shoddy artwork on the cover.  For all that I dig the vibe of this, their 2001 debut – there’s a bunch of fun to be had on tracks like “Crescendo of Thoughts” with the very Dream Theater-ish interplay between the guitars and keys.  If you’re looking for something very much in the vein of Dream Theater when they were fun, this might be up your alley

The album still holds up.  The older I get I find myself throwing off a lot of what I’m expected to like as a “metal guy” and going back to the things that excited me when I was younger: the potent combination of melody and power.  Andromeda may not have innovated the sound, but there’s something to be said for making something you love, and simply living for that.