Well yet another progressive rock super group featuring members of Flower Kings. Literally bassist Jonas
Reingold's solo project, evident in the bass lines being brought up front in the mix, this is one of the stronger prog-rock albums out there in this day and age with the genre saturated with weaker clones. This album will kill any stereotypes of progressive rock not being able to break into the metal atmosphere.
The album starts out with narration of a woman narrating the concept of the album, which I found myself humoring it instantly. However the diversity in the music of this record is what is important, every song is different with you typical mix of analog synthesizers, Hammond organ, Mellotrons, clean to thick heavy guitars, and improvised soloing. There is a perfect mix of progressive rock, progressive metal, and power metal on this record.
Its tracks
like "The Spirit Remains the Same" that show diversity starting out as a full blown prog-metal opus then changes to a Moody Blues atmosphere, then moving back to its powerful metal crunch.
"Space Race #3" is defiantly a full-blown metal song that is reminiscent of Stratovarius. But is tracks like
"Entering the Spectra" and
"Man in the Moon Cries" that have more of a progressive sound wile adding with pop sensibility.
The avant-garde jam session of
"One Whole Half" showcases jazz improvisation fused with guitar chops that sound like many of the Shrapnel Records shedders we all know and love. And what album can be complete without a ballad,
"Is This the End" does justice without any cheesy overtones.
The production on the album can is like comparing the approach of Yes' "90125" with a modern day progressive touch, keeping the simple pop elements in place while adding the progressive elements.
Most of you who might shy away from progressive material should check this out. There is something for everybody here; you might find weak moments such as the slower stuff, but you will be pleased by the heavier moments, and trust me there are lots of them out there. This is something that fans of the Inside Out record label would enjoy, as well as fans of Flower Kings, Spock's Beard, and Dream Theater. I again will stress that this album among the newer progressive rock acts out there stands out, I even will make the strong statement that is better than quite a bit of the Flower Kings material, probably due to the fact that
Reingold brought a heavy element that is not found in many progressive rock bands out there.
Written by
Hashman Thursday, May 8, 2003
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