Mark my words,
Sun Caged are going to be huge. The best debut of 2003? To me it is very close, competing for the first place alongside
Masterplan &
Redemption at the moment...
Sun Caged play their own kind of Metal with a great element of surprise. Through the nine tracks the challenging and well written music twists and turns through a huge musical landscape. Everything from beautiful quiet piano parts to wild instrumental passages is here. Highly technical music while never losing touch with the important melodic element.
Andre Vuurboom (Vocals), Marcel Coenen (Guitars), Rob van der Loo (Bass), Joost van den Broek (Keyboards) and Dennis Leeflang (Drums) all show their great talent on this album and combined they create a sound that stands out in an already crowded scene.
Two elements in particular give
Sun Caged an extra kick of adrenaline. Guitarist Marcel Coenen and Keyboard wizard Joost Van Den Broek. Joost does a fantastic job of bringing a unique atmosphere to the songs. Whether there is need for an atmospheric mood enhancer, a fast solo or just a beautiful piano interlude, he does it all with a great sense of melody and timing. I must admit not knowing Marcel's earlier band Lemur Voice, but here he impresses me and if he is not churning out a heavy riff, he is in the middle of some wild melodic solo. The way these two guys play their instruments gives the music that element of surprise I was talking about earlier. Like in the title track,
Sun Caged where the song suddenly slows down and an emotional passage with just keys and Andre's soft voice continues. Suddenly the atmosphere is torn apart with a screaming guitar solo. I love the way the wild guitar solo completely tears the fabric of the song apart. Definitely my favorite part of the album at the moment. A nod goes to the cymbals in the quiet part of the song too. Very nice!
It is a good sign of confidence to start of with a song as complex as
Sedation. The riff that plays in the verse of this song is a monster. Overall this is a great song with many cool passages, the long guitar solo starting around the 5 minute mark being the absolute highlight. The solo nicely leads the song into a powerful passage where the panning stereo effect gives a great flying feel to the music.
One thing I feel could have made the album even better is a little trimming of some songs, or maybe I should say tighter songwriting. An example from
Sedation is the Dream Theater-esque passage from the 4-5 minute mark. It is the only thing I feel drags the song down. The song would have a better flow if this particular section had been trimmed a little.
I will not describe all the songs, but just say that they are all of high quality and have many exciting moments. Some songs stick in your mind after a few listens but others take many listens before they show their strength, so be patient and you will be rewarded.
Andre's vocals is another strong point of
Sun Caged. Not exactly being the most original singer in the world he still delivers a consistent performance and especially in the slower songs his vocal melodies are excellent and proves that his voice has several dimensions that can be developed in the future. The title track,
Hollow and
Unchanging are songs where his vocal stylings and feeling add something special.
Hollow is also available for
download at the
Sun Caged website and it is one of the most immediately catchy songs. With a blinding chorus it has been one of my favorites right from the start.
The production is impressive. Very balanced and each instrument is clearly audible. That is quite an achievement with music as complex as this. With loads of detail in both the bass playing and drumming it is also an intriguing experience concentrating on just one instrument.
Overall this is a very impressive debut, but sometimes I get the feeling that the band is holding back a little and I miss some parts where they go all out crazy. Maybe it is just that I miss some of the crazy instrumentals from their earlier demos.
If you like bands such as Dream Theater, Watchtower, Spastic Ink,
Fates Warning or
Symphony X then
Sun Caged is sure to have something for you. Their next album will show if they can take the next step towards the throne the above mentioned bands share.
All in all a fantastic debut album that gives hope of even greater things to come. A highly entertaining release that should appeal to all fans of challenging music.
Written by
Steen Thursday, December 4, 2003
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