Label: Czar of Crickets Release: 2012 Style: Progressive Metal Tracklist 1. Hell Is Above You, 2. Tragedy, 3. Open Your Mind, 4. The Empire Is Gone, 5. Rider In The Autumn Night, 6. The Night Without Morning, 7. Crown of Hope, 8. Love and Hate, 9. Follow Me Decent Disaster is a five-piece progressive metal band from the canton of Basel-Country. It had been founded in 2008 and consists of singer Thomas Rauch (ex-Kirk), guitarist Dave Klauderoti, guitarist Sven Bürgin, bassist

Anuschka Colonnello and drummer Marco Faseth. The group has played many concerts in Switzerland since the band was founded. In early autumn 2012 their first album "The Empire" was released by Swiss record company Czar of Crickets. On it, the listener gets a full load of guitar sounds from Dave Klauderoti and Sven Bürgin with virtuosic guitar solos that give the songs a lot of power and melodies. Besides, frontman Thomas Rauch (ex-Kirk) convinces with his penetrating vocals. The songs are very dynamic and captivate the listener. It's an easy fare, but it's worth taking the risk. Due to the good production the music really pops out of the speakers. So far I had experienced this group live once and they convinced me with their powerful music, which captivated me as a spectator and music lover from the beginning and never let go. The people were technically very good and showed that in every single second on stage and in the studio. If you count bands like Dream Theater among your favorites, you should listen to "The Empire" and you might come across a Swiss progressive metal pearl. The only disadvantage is that Swiss progressive metal bands have a hard time making a name for themselves, because this style of music has a niche existence in Switzerland and doesn’t enjoy the same attention as heavy metal, power metal, pagan metal, viking metal or thrash metal. Hopefully more albums of this group will follow. "The Empire" had become a very good debut. 11/12 Review by Dominic Latscha