MEDEA is the solo project of guitarist/keyboardist Henry Meeuws (CASUAL SILENCE). His musical roots go back to 1989 when he was guitarist of melodic metal band YARRETH, with whom he recorded three demos. A decade or so later, he went solo and recorded a couple of albums of classical pieces on acoustic guitar, and then in 2000 he joined Dutch art rock band CASUAL SILENCE as keyboard player. In 2002, he self-produced a solo cd, "Individual Unique", a very decent concept album for which he wrote almost all the music, played all instruments and which features nine vocalists, among whom figure CASUAL SILENCE's own Rob Laarhoven, Eric Smits and Ernst Le Cocq d'Armandville.
"Individual Unique" is a rock opera, not quite prog metal but definitely more beefy than traditional symphonic prog, with a cast of male and female singers personifying the various characters. The concept is about a young ambitious artist in 18th Century Florence who is visited by the spirit of Michelangelo. Musically, many passages as well as several guitar riffs will remind the listener of Meeuws' love of DREAM THEATER - he admits his main influence being John Petrucci although his technique is far less complex. The album features nine tracks that vary in length from 2 to almost 10 minutes, from prog metal pieces to emotional ballads to an adaptation of a J.S. Bach fugue. All in all, it attains a nice balance between prog metal and symphonic prog.
A 'rock opera', Northern Light is similar in style and tone to a good many Dutch symphonic metal acts and more specifically the ambitious concepts of Arjen Lucassen and the musicals of Clive Nolan. Meeuws is responsible for all lead instruments including guitars, keyboards, piano and orchestrations, assisted by Igor Koopmans on drums and Frank de Groot on bass.
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