OLIVER CHEUNG – Remembrance

Hong Kong is rarely, if ever, thought of as a hotbed of Prog Metal. Apparently, no one told that to guitarist Oliver Cheung and thanks to that, we have Remembrance, his new EP of Instrumental Progressive Metal.

With only three tracks spanning a running time of over 26 minutes, this is clearly an earnest exercise in metal guitar exploration. While there are clear influences from Prog Metal stalwarts like Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, and Coroner, Cheung successfully blends his roots and favorite artists into a style all his own. The first track, “Remembrance”, gets off to a slow start, but rewards patient listeners with an incredible display of righteous guitar chops. Cheung has clearly done his homework when it comes to mastering his craft.

As many bright spots as this release has, it is, without a doubt, more suited to being listened to by musicians or audiophiles than a mainstream audience. The standard melodic content of Pop music or even the more accessible genres of Metal is largely absent here. On a relatively short and energetic release like this, those melodies are not necessarily missed, but it will still make Remembrance a hard sell to less Prog friendly fans. History will show, not only how this release is viewed, but also how Cheung will move forward from here. He could continue to build a name for himself among the ranks of new, hot-shot guitarists, or adapt his composition style to more mainstream tastes.