Time of the Dragon

Time of the Dragon is the second album from U.S.-based Echosoul and features their take on progressive/power metal. It is a take that sounds like a lot of other bands operating in this space. Echosoul don't excessively noodle but have technical chops. The slightly gritty vocals convey the appropriate feelings of frustration and angst, there are some hooks to the choruses, etc. and while all that is good, it just isn't very distinctive. There's nothing on Time of the Dragon that bands like Pagan's Mind or Symphony X haven't done already. Since Echosoul aren't outplaying or outwriting those acts, this leaves the album a pleasant but unremarkable face in a crowd of progressive metal releases. If progressive metal is what gets you up in the morning, you'll surely find positives on Time of the Dragon, but if not, you can probably give it a pass.