Reviews

Portuguese band Framepictures was formed in 2004. I would almost call these guys Dream Theater-clones, but fortunately they also have a musical identity of their own. The album is packed with magnificent prog metal clichés like dated and emphatic keyboards, angry and staccato guitar riffs, lots of bombastic passages and of course the falsetto voice of singer Tiago Delgado. The album opens with the amazing Memories Faded Away featuring an explicit DT-intro with a sparkling guitar solo and some rather heavy riffs. What an opener! The second highlight is the 25-minute conceptual epic track My Will To Live, which is divided into seven parts. In this epic you’ll find everything you need for an excellent prog rock song. However, in my opinion the other five songs on this debut are not as good as the aforementioned tracks as they mostly lack originality and diversity. Don’t get me wrong! These five guys can certainly play, but sometimes it’s a bit over the top, I think. However, if you take into consideration that this is a debut album, Framepictures is a promising band of which we can expect a lot. If you like Dream Theater then you’ll love Framepictures as well. I’m really looking forward to see these guys in the flesh. If you only listen to tracks 1 and 7 you will be a fan immediately; if you listen to the other songs you will be a bit disappointed... So, I’ve got an advice here: play Memories Faded Away first and as loud as possible!
www.backgroundmagazine.nl/CDreviews/FramepicturesRemember.html

...It would be easy to say that, in essence, what FramePictures play is sophisticated and original prog metal. There. Review done. However, this would be to pigeon-hole them too handily and pigeon-hole them into the wrong box to boot. Yes, the characteristic markers of prog metal abound but there’s more to it than that. The album begins with a heraldic theme on grand piano and remains a prominent feature of the song, reminiscent of Jem Godfrey from Frost*. Each player gets the chance to shine on every track. In this case Helder da Silva provides a good melodic guitar solo dashing through a range of techniques and voices and Mafalda glides an effortless Moog solo underpinned by some lovely bass figures. An odd thing happens in the very catchy chorus when Tiago uses a melody that is part Tears For Fears and part Salem Hill. This mid-‘80s slant to the melodies is repeated in track 2 where the chorus is distinctly coloured with a vibe that Duran Duran or their side-project, Arcadia might have used – don’t let this in any way deter you though. The song itself is a fairly standard melodic rock song with a funky, jazzy verse, the aforesaid Duran Duran-like chorus and a lovely middle section that sounds like Pieces Of Eight-era Styx. Again, there’s an excellent Moog solo followed by another great melodic guitar solo, all carried on the wonderful bass arrangement by Ricardo Drumond. I’ll take just a moment to single him out for special praise here. The bass playing on this album is superlatively good. Just as Geddy Lee provides a signature note to Rush’s sound, so Ricardo does for FramePictures. What he’s doing propels everything and it’s highly crafted, virtuoso playing throughout. Whether it’s the slap-bass of Don’t Trust My Eyes or the half-tempo jazz/fusion of Why Nobody Cares which treads boldly into Helmet Of Gnats or Karcius territory, Drumond’s work is consistently dynamic, multi-faceted and never less than compelling, exciting and interesting...
www.dprp.net/reviews/201043.php#frame

...Remember It' is the debut album of FramePictures. What are some things that immediately get your attention? Kick-ass guitarwork! Helder Da Silva is a very talented player who shows off a broad understanding of the possibilities of the instrument, and knows very well how to fuse the sound of FramePictures with soaring leads and riffs filled to the brim with a fantastic acquired sense of melody. Be it clean and balladesque, be it heavy: great! The same actually goes for the keyboards and bass. Meanwhile the drummer doesn't forget to sound fresh, impressive and dynamic. It is exactly this tonal, modal and grooving inventiveness so prominent in FramePictures that is lacking in Dante: Dante's use of scales and compositional twists is very poor whereas with FramePictures the sound is very rich. But where FramePictures is rich in textures, they lose on the terrain of emotional depth in vocals. Even though the vocals are very expressive and distinct, the lines are less catchy and harder to distinguish from each other. Tiago Delgado has a very own sound, which actually reminds quite a bit of Ozzy. Indeed! But this man is better at keeping tone and complex passages...
lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=16781&lang=en

Interview with band
www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=72391

The band FramePictures was founded by session musicians who shared the same musical vision. That was in 2004, later singer Tiago Delgado was added to the ranks. The album opens up with the warm sound of a grand piano, but soon the others join in. Memories Faded Away is showing the Portuguese in a Planet X-kinda way first, but then it's more like early Dream Theater. One things for sure, these guys know how to play! The title track is a kind of catchy rock tune with progressive elements. A very good way to get into the album Remember It. Actually the guys spice up their prog rock with metallic riffs, some jazzy elements and other sounds, and it's this variety of sounds which make the album enjoyable. Even long instrumental passages aren't tiring, coz it's no ego show, they play song supportive and give each other enough space to shine. Some monumental parts make me think of ELP... But then they get heavier, more metal - just to head into a prog rock passage. The closer My Will To Live is about 26 minutes long and it's like the soundtrack to a short film. It also shows the whole sound spectrum of FramePictures. Well done! If you can imagine a sound which combines elements of ELP, early Dream Theater and Planet X, then you get an idea about FramePictures!
www.ice-vajal.com/f/CD/framepictures.htm

The band FramePictures was formed back in 2004, and at that time the band only played instrumental music. Now, in 2010 this Portuguese metal outfit is ready with a fresh release entitled Remember It. This latest offering consists of seven tracks with a running time of 80 minutes. It is a quite lengthy release with a lot of experimental and interesting moments. One of those is a long track called “Memories Faded Away” which starts with instruments followed by clean voice. On the opposite side we have “Remember It” which is a heavier song, added with great guitar soli, thundering drums and well played bass & keyboard parts. They call their music ‘21st century post-prog rock’ and it sounds just true, in the lack of better description. I you are into Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree or Opeth then Remember It will appear to you. All in all it’s a good CD, but at some point I do feel it’s like some of the tracks sound messy and without enough structure. However, they know how to handle most of the instruments. Remember It will surely attract a wider metal audience with its heavier, more mainstream direction, and some aggressive up-tempo beats. I can not wait to hear what they have in store for us next.
metal-revolution.com/plugins/content/content.php?content.3009

...One of my fears of progressive bands is that they take it too far, so that the real musical experience has been put aside. But this band focuses on a rock and pop oriented style with here and there some brutal metal elements and in the breaks there are some progressive funk elements to be found. This all and a bit more makes the album quite refreshing and various. It has an open sound and with some good represented emotions. The vocals are strong and inviting, something I personally miss by a lot of bands in the progressive corner. The longest song on the album, the one of 26 minutes and also the finishing song is the most allround song of the album and will give a good representation of the band. It might be one of the few longer songs I actually like. The attention among the band members has been well divided, giving every member his moment of glory, without losing the unity feel. The whole experience of the music is something wonderful. Something else that has been done very well is the difference of the tempo within the songs. There are slow parts, fast parts, faster parts and more without getting annoying. FramePictures leaves here a great all round rock album behind. Remember It is a real good debut for the band from who we hear more...
furyrocks.com/en/recentie/FramePictures__Remember_It_189532

...Inventive and inspired are the first words that come to mind as you travel through Remember It. Echoes of early Dream Theater, maybe some Porcupine Tree, and also Planet X and some Transatlantic are heard throughout this musical drama. Yet, FramePictures' free expression and creativity reign supreme. The music flows quickly and effortlessly over the imaginative arrangements. And these compositions can drift between conventional prog rock as Memories Faded Away to the quirky and unconventional, closer to prog metal, like Shadows Black and Grey. Of genuine importance is that all players are equally represented in every song. Individual performances also shine like the lead guitar on Memories Faded Away, the bass line on Call for Me, and the keyboards on Don't Trust My Eyes...
www.dangerdog.com/2010-music-reviews/frame-pictures-remember-it-review.php

...The band is comprised of vocalist Tiago Delgado, guitarist Helder da Silva, drummer Artus Jorge, bassist Ricardo Drumond, and keyboard player Mafalda Brogueira. Together they have crafted a highly listenable batch of songs here on Remember It, tunes that are both catchy yet musically quite challenging. The near 9-minute opener "Memories Faded Away" is a blistering Dream Theater styled thumper, complete with soaring harmonies and tasty guitar & keyboard work. Delgado really shines on the melodic title track, a great prog-ballad featuring some splendid keyboard orchestrations and chunky riffs. "Call For Me" is closer to your typical prog-metal epic, filled with drama and virtuoso arrangements that let the band display their musical talents. Expect some heavier passages here, yet the band never forget to inject atmosphere and melody, giving this long piece a nice flow throughout its near 13-minute length. I must also mention the excellent drum work of Jorge on this one, as he lays down a wide assortment of jazz & rock licks throughout the song, especially during the fusiony guitar & synth solo section...
www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=9401

‘Remember it’ is the debut CD of the Portuguese band FRAMEPICTURES. The band is formed around a group of high-skilled session musicians, who decided to start this band already 6 years ago. During this period they added a lead singer to their line-up and now they are your typical Progressive Rockband. ‘Remember it’ might not become the best or most original progalbum of 2010, it still offers some great music. The band is playing pure Progressive Rock, with the usual Progmetal influences here and there, so the band has an edgy approach most of the time, kinda like a lightweight DREAM THEATER. The result is a good little album that is nice to listen to and with as absolute highlight the concept-epic 26 minutes closing track “My will to live”, although the melodic “Call for me” is also memorable. The band’s vocals are very clean and melodic, making them interesting for any progfan out there.
strutterzine.angelfire.com/HOTNEWREVIEWS.htm