dtguitarfan I have been following Sun Caged for a while now, and before this album always thought they were a band that had a lot of potential, but that's as far as I would have taken it. Well, I'm happy to say that when I heard this album, I was convinced that this was potential realized. This is a fantastic example of what Progressive Metal is all about - the stop/start rhythms, the instrumental sections that show off the technicality of the band, the vocal harmonies, the changing dynamics of the music. There really isn't a weak track on the album either - each track is an opportunity for the band to explore, and they do so very well. And of course, the album has something that makes a Prog Metal fan like myself drool - a nice multi-part epic suite. This album is in my top 10 for the year 2011. I hope to hear from this band again very soon!

Stephen 'The Lotus Effect' is one of the most volatile prog-metal disc I ever heard in 2011. I know several others but the point is, SUN CAGED seems to excite you with a splendid melodic kick, and then bored you instantly with some mediocre tracks, and then push you up to the sky with some nice shred and scream, and torn you to pieces with couple of worst prog-metal tracks I ever heard. That's a huge roller coaster ride but not in an incredibly fun way.

'Seamripper' is a monstrous opening set, with a death metal pattern rolling in, the early part is highly melodic and complex, yet it provides an easy access to the whole song. 'Tip-Toe The Fault Line' is where DREAM THEATER meets PORCUPINE TREE, and check out the solo, it's a madness! And to the next 6 tracks, I'm experiencing a painful journey. 'Shades of Hades' is a torture to my ears, and 'Pareidolized' is only slightly better. 'Reductio Ad Absurdum' is quite boring but kudos to the great singing here.

The only track I can accept is 'On Again/Off Again', but hope soon arise again with 'Parasol', an easy listening type of track but I love the simplicity of it. 'Wave The Banner' is a nice short track, and nothing's really memorable until 'Let It Wash Away', which is a good closer. With a running time of over 70 minutes, you must be a real hardcore fan of this band, or the genre, to really enjoy this album.

I don't think I can stand the whole album in one single spin without taking a break, it's just unbearable, but 'The Lotus Effect' isn't a horrible album at all, some good moments, some listenable tunes, I can avoid some tunes and I'm doin' fine. It's just that I don't see a good reason to grant this any score above 60%, probably even lower.

Time Signature Full circle...

Genre: progressive metal

As is typical of progressive metal, there is plenty of genre transgression on this album which contains virtually everything from blastbeats over ballady choruses and heavy groove guitar riffage to slapping and fretless bass as well as some jazz-fusion-like and some neoclassical elements. For instance, the opener "Seamripper (& the Blanket Statement)" contains some grinding blastbeats combined with more groovy and melodic elements, and there is some awesome slapping bass in "Tip-Toe the Fault-Line" and "Shades of Hades", while "Ashes to Earn" delivers some more classic progressive metal figures and odd time signature plus prominent keyboards and a quite melodic nature. So does the darker track "Lotus" which also involves an Epic Middle Eastern atmosphere. "Ashtamangala the 8 Auspicious Symbols" is an even more epic suite in seven parts which, needless to say, offers many twists, turns and other interesting things.

The vocals are clear and have a very melodic quality as well as an almost volatile texture but very potent at the same time, which is in an interesting contrast to the very heavy sounding guitars. The level of musicianship is obviously very high, delivering impressive work on all instruments, and fans of guitar virtuoso-playing can look forward to some very nice guitar solos.

With all its variation and both modern and classic elements, this album should appeal to fans of progressive metal.