dtguitarfan Symphony X is the Progressive Metal band I have been following the 2nd longest, next to Dream Theater. To add to this, The Odyssey is probably my favorite album by them, though it is very difficult for me to pick one album by them that I like better than all the others (this is a common difficulty with favorite bands I guess). So, to honor this, I am going to go track by track on this album:

1. Inferno (Unleash The Fire) - This is a great way to open an album - right away they prove their chops. This is the kind of song you just HAVE to practice your air guitar on as Michael Romeo proves he is a force to be reckoned with. And the keyboards add to this way in an almost conversational way - answering back the guitars note for note during the intro. Russel Allen shows of his versatility on this one, switching back and forth between an angry growl and clean, anthemic singing.

2. Wicked - This is a nice dark and heavy piece. Backing the dark, heavy riffs of the guitar and bass, the keyboards add an air of mystery. And Symphony X throw in some nice, subtle compound rhythms just when you think they're going to stick with common time.

3. Incantations Of The Apprentice - This one builds up very nicely - starting out with an orchestral sound, adding the heavy guitars, then some almost electronica sounding keyboards and tops it off with some heavy riffing. And they keep switching up the beat on this one, but somehow I find I can keep a good head-banging going. The song tells a great fantasy based, dark magic tale and the music complements this quite nicely. Once again, Russell Allen shows just how versatile he is, switching back and forth between growls and pure tones.

4. Accolade II - Perfect example of why this is one of my favorite bands. This is an incredibly dynamic song, and the band weaves a complex tapestry, piling different rhythms on top of each other to form tightly woven poly-rhythms. I love the usage of the keyboards as well, switching from symphonic sounds to piano and back. Again, the lyrics are deeply rooted in fantasy, and the music tells the tale so very well. There are dark, sad, mysterious, and triumphant moments in this song, and some killer instrumentals to boot. What a ride this one takes the listener on, and I am completely enveloped in the tale it tells.

5. King Of Terrors - The way this one starts out kind of reminds me of the way some of the better Metallica songs start out, but then they underlay the metal riffing with Arabic sounding orchestral keyboards, and the occasional keyboard "choir sound" (I love when Michael Pinella uses that particular sound). All throughout this song, Pinella shines, adding very interesting elements to the classic metal sound of the guitars. Man, this band is so good at telling stories with their music, and there are parts of this song where I can just imagine being in a dark graveyard with dark creatures and lightning bursts. I can't describe this in a way that does the music justice, but listening to this song I feel like a dark wizard has sent me on a frightening ride.

6. The Turning - Again the band starts things off with a bang and Michael Romeo shows off his dark neo-baroque style of riffage. The chorus has an arabic sound again, and Russell abruptly switched to a very aggressive growl. Again, I get this "evil magic" type of feel listening to this song.

7. Awakenings - This is one of my favorite pieces by the band, and oh does Pinella shine on this one. The keyboards are so incredibly versatile, switching through so many sounds - Pinella is like a master composer, and the band backs him perfectly all throughout the piece. Sir Allen shows off his softer side to start off this track, and once again you know right away the band is going to tell an epic tale. Just as you get the sense that they are building to something bigger - BAM! They hit you with some awesome metal riffage, and here's where Michael Romeo shows what a perfect coupling this band has between keyboards and guitar. To top it all off, this song has one of the most fantastic, dizzying instrumentals, featuring Michael Pinella's keyboards in a big way - it's like he wanted to show off just how many sound settings he's got. It's so easy to take for granted what an amazing keyboardist he is because Michael Romeo shines so brightly as the guitarist, but in this piece Pinella proves he is up there in the rankings of the top Progressive Metal keyboardists.

8. The Odyssey - What can I say about this one? Words simply cannot do it justice. This has long been my absolute favorite Progressive epic. The band invites you to come along with them as they take you on a journey, telling the tale of Homer's Odyssey in a way only they can. The song starts out with an intro that sounds like a movie soundtrack, marrying orchestral sounds with metal guitars in a way only this band can accomplish. Then Russell Allen sings brilliantly in a metal ballad style during the first section of the tale, as the hero prepares his tale. I'm not going to go through the entire epic and talk about every section, but this one is absolutely phenomenal - it's like a Metal Action/Fantasy/Epic movie. This is what Progressive Metal is all about - music telling a story, with complexity, dynamic energy, and thrilling virtuoso musicianship.

9. Masquerade - This is like a dark baroque metal opera. The operatic vocal harmonies, and harpsichord sounds of the keyboards give the metal riffing such an interesting flavor, and the instrumental section is like Bach went on a crazy murderous rampage. Brilliant end to a brilliant album.

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!

dtguitarfan Well, this album was a complete surprise to me - I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of it before. Quickest way to describe this band - Bizarro is to Superman what Factory of Dreams is to Nightwish. In a good way. There are a lot of sound related similarities to Nightwish I hear in this album, such as the style of keyboards and how they are mixed with the other metal elements, the singer often sounds like Tarja Tarunen. But the composition is what is surprising in this album. Vocal harmonies play a big role, and this band often will add in some odd dissonances on top of standard vocal harmonies. Another technique they use is to underlay a somewhat common sounding melody with rapid-fire kick drumming and rhythm guitars that often feature changing time signatures. These techniques take something that could be merely another female fronted symphonic metal act in the vein of Nightwish, and make the music incredibly interesting. This is going on my shortlist of albums to listen to again very soon.

UMUR "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is the 11th full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Dream Theater. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in September 2011. This is the first Dream Theater album not to feature drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy who left the band in September 2010. He is replaced here by Mike Mangini (Annihilator, Extreme, Steve Vai).

Despite the quite significant lineup change (In addition to his drumming duties Mike Portnoy was active in the band´s songwriting as well as co-producing several of the group´s albums) not much have actually changed since "Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009"). Dream Theater still produce top notch progressive metal involving outstanding musicianship and well written material. What they fail to do on this album and actually haven´t done for a while is challenge their audience. "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is more or less Dream Theater by the numbers and at this point I really wish they would break out of the stylistic monotony they´ve been in for now too long. There are literally no surprises on this album and frankly I expect more from the world´s leading progressive metal act. After all the word "progressive" (in this context) means that you push boundaries and create something new/unheard of.

With that out of the way "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is of course still a high quality release on almost every other parameter and as such the album opens pretty strong with the trio of tracks "On the Backs of Angels", "Build Me Up, Break Me Down" and "Lost Not Forgotten". But from "This is the Life" and onwards my attention begins to wander. Especially some of the longer tracks like "Bridges in the Sky" and "Outcry" are rather tedious to my ears, but of course things aren´t helped along either with the inclusion of the saccarine and forgettable ballad "Far From Heaven". I don´t know why they keep insisting on including tracks like that on their albums ("This is the Life" also falls under that catagory).

The sound production is decent but the drums have an odd sound. Maybe they are not high enough in the mix or something like that. I can´t put my finger on it, but there is some kind of issue with them. Regarding the drums it´s interesting to note that Mike Mangini more or less completely imitates the playing of Mike Portnoy. I´ve read somewhere that the drum parts for the tracks were already written when Mangini entered the lineup, so maybe it´s not so strange. It´ll be interesting to see if he can bring his own style to the table on the next release if he decides to stay with the band.

Now I can understand that hardcore fans of Dream Theater find "A Dramatic Turn of Events" to be a great release but I simply have to point out what I see as weaknesses and potential signs of a band that have given up developing their music. To me "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is a kinda "middle of the road" album by Dream Theater and it´s far from the best output by the band. Sometime in the future when talking about Dream Theater´s discography this album will not be mentioned. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

dtguitarfan First off, I'd like to thank Frontiers for giving me the honor of being the first reviewer of this fine album by allowing me to listen to this album before the release date.

Five years. That's how long I have anticipated this album. I'll get this out of the way and give the readers the disclaimer that I am a fan of this band - having seen them live twice has convinced me that they are a stellar band and no one can convince me otherwise. HOWEVER, and PLEASE continue reading...five years of anticipation did not prepare me for what was to come. As I eagerly began the album in my car, I was completely blown away as I turned my stereo DOWN...something that rarely happens in my car. I thought "wow...I didn't know my speakers were capable of this...what IS that sound?" Let me just summarize here by telling you that the production on this album is stellar - Circus Maximus has obviously earned enough respect that Frontiers Records is putting more money into mixing and such than Sensory records were willing/able to spend on them. And it shows, because the album sound is top notch. So back to my story - I had just turned my stereo down and I'm thinking "what IS that sound?" I immediately realized something, and it is a conclusion that did not change throughout the album - 5 years between albums showed. If you have picked up one or both of Circus Maximus' other albums and thought they were ok, but weren't crazy about them, you might want to think about picking this album up anyways, because it is a totally different experience. This isn't to say that CM fans will be disappointed - no, the sound is still recognizable. But they sound all grown up. They aren't trying to prove anything anymore - they're comfortable with the fact that they've already proven themselves. Yes, you will still hear impressive riffs and instrumental wizardry. But they hang back at times and build suspense, so that when they come crashing in with their thunderous heavy metal chords, it sounds all the more heavy. And let me tell you, because of the production I mentioned before, the pounding bass and drums, the otherworldly keyboard sounds, and the crashing electric guitar are going to reach out of your speakers and slap you right in the face. But the really exciting thing to me is how much they've changed since the last album - don't get me wrong, I LOVED both of their earlier works. But this album, while being fully recognizable as Circus Maximus, has sections that I am sure I could play for a CM fan without telling them who it was, and as long as they didn't hear the familiar tone of Michael Eriksen's singing, I'm willing to bet they would not recognize the band. With this album, Circus Maximus builds off of the foundation they've built in the first two albums and explores new territory, and it is a very exciting thing to hear. So I'm going to do something I have not done before in a review and go through this album track by track:

Forging - this is a 76 second instrumental intro, so there is not much to say about it, although it serves it's purpose by building suspense with some dark keyboards, like walking through a heavy fog.

Architect of Fortune - well, they definitely start things off with a bang on this 10 minute plus epic. The piece starts off with a sound that will leave CM fans thinking "did I put the right CD in my player? Is this Circus Maximus?" An eerie whine, like a far off siren warning of danger, is backed by unbelievably thunderous bass and drums, and then the guitar comes crashing in and you know "yes, this is Circus Maximus." But what makes this epic so special is the fact that musically speaking, it is all over the place while still feeling seamless. It is unmistakeably one piece, and yet so very diverse in tone, tempo, and volume. It's like being taken for a ride, and not realizing how far you've come until the end when you look back and see just how far away the starting point is. This song will leave you shaking your head in disbelief after the journey is over.

Namaste - ok, now that we've told you a nice long thrilling musical tale, let's pound your face for a while - hear us roar! That's what I imagine them saying at a concert if they played this song immediately after the previous. This song demands respect from their heavy metal fans. And yet they still manage to throw in some musical curveballs, while keeping it somewhat subtle.

Game of Life - ah, now here's that melodic metal sound CM fans are used to. This is where CM show how they can throw hooks like anybody, and yet still have the chops to shred your face off. Michael Eriksen is going to show his amazing range, while never hanging out in the stratosphere for too long (as is an unfortunately all too common habit of too many metal acts, in my opinion) but just enough for you to know he can hit those notes like nobody's business. And Mats Haugen is going to build a guitar solo that will show you he can shred your face off with the best of them.

Reach Within - this song has the very interesting quality of feeling heavy and soft at the same time. While Michael Eriksen gently sings the verse, the bass line pounds beneath, and creates an interesting contrast. This song has a "single", radio-friendly feel to it, and yet there are subtle progressive undertones. Once again, Mats Haugen throws in a souring guitar solo, though this one I find reminiscent of Joe Satriani.

I Am - The opening of the song tricks you into thinking this is going to be a pop-oriented, single-worthy type of song, but then they throw in time-signature changes and stop/start rhythms. There are some very nice keyboard parts to this song that give it a lot of character. And of course, they throw in a nice guitar solo with some guitar and keyboard unison soli. All in all a joyful/triumphant prog romp.

Used - This track is a nice change of pace, as they show off their headbanger side. This is a rough and tumble heavy metal romp. But don't be fooled by the opening 4/4 time signature - they're going to throw off your headbanging with their masterful quick time signature changes. It's so easy to think you know exactly where this band is going with a tune, and then to be completely thrown off guard and I love it!

The One - The opening to this song tricks you into thinking it's an "I'm sorry" type of song, but it abbruptly changes to a more stern/angry tone that will have you banging your head in agreement. Again, Lasse Finbraten's keyboards add some great atmosphere to the song that is the difference between good and excellent.

Burn After Reading - So, at this point, you might be thinking "hey, out of all the songs on this album I've heard so far, only one is more than five minutes long - where are all the epics?" Never fear, for CM has saved two very, very special treats for you at the end of the album. I think this may be my favorite track, though it's hard to decide. The piece starts off with some very nice acoustic guitar parts, that have an upbeat tempo that tells you something bigger is coming - you just know it. But CM masterfully builds the suspense in this piece - just as you think things are going to get loud, they pull back again, teasing their listeners. I found the vocals in some of the quieter parts to be very interesting as they reminded me of Muse, or Freddy Mercury - once again I found myself asking (in a good way) "who IS this band?!" In a rare turn of events, I found myself paying a lot of attention to the lyrics of this one - they are a lament over the mistakes made over the course of life resulting in lost relationships, and the chorus is a real tearjerker: Every shimmering rock I've collected Kept weighing me down Pulling me to the ground All that I have left of us is a memory A picture of you and me

The song builds up to an instrumental section that is just the kind of monstrous prog hurricane you would expect from this band, the trading off and unison section between Mats Haugen on guitars and Lasse Finbraten on keyboards, and the twisting and turning changing key signatures are astounding. And then they throw the listener for a loop when this instrumental section stops instantly, leaving you stunned as Michael once again sings oh so softly, gently, in a section that once again reminds me of Muse. But they don't stay here, but crank it up before fading away in the end. Brilliant epic piece by the Circus.

Last Goodbye - Another brilliant epic. The song starts off with some keyboard sounds that are a very, very unusual sound for this band - I can only describe it as a spacey-80's sound. Of course they don't stay there, but build up from there. As the song's title suggests, this song is a last goodbye to an old friend. But it is a real tear jerker for me as, instead of coming off as mournful, it is more of a joyful celebration of the times shared together - at times coming off as...triumphant. This makes the gentle sadness over the departure all the more emotional, and it is a wonderful finish to the album, leaving me thrilled and spent after the roller coaster of this album.

dtguitarfan I have struggled to find the words with which to properly review this album. I could tell you all about the all star crew that makes up the band: Daniel Fries, along with drummer Collin Leijenaar (Neal Morse/Dilemma), bass player Mike Lepond (Symphony X), and vocalist Ted Leonard (Spock’s Beard/Enchant/Thought Chamber). Plus they have four special guests on keyboards: Jordan Rudess, Derek Sherinian, Neal Morse, and Alex Argento. I could also talk about their masterful blending of their metal instrumentation with the symphonic arrangements pulled off by the Polish orchestra Sinfonietta Consonus. Or I could tell you about the concept of this album, dealing with the end times in a very unique way (for this musical genre) and inspired by the fears of the world ending in 2012 based on the Mayan calendar. But I wanted to make this personal, and so I decided to write the following as a letter to the band - perhaps by some chance one of them will read it:

Thank you. Thank you for having the courage, the integrity, the diligence, and the drive to create an album like this, and doing so with such power. You don't know how long I've waited for someone to create an album with this level of technical musicality, in this style of music, with this level of quality, and with this kind of lyrical concept, treated with such a high level of integrity and respect. You may never know how much you've inspired me, or how uplifting this was to me. The lyrical concepts of this album were presented in such a beautiful way, with dark passages that made the highs of the album all the more beautiful, that as I listened to this, I was filled with indescribable joy, driving me to the point of tears, and I pondered things which I really ought to ponder more often. From a brother in Metal, and, I believe, in many other ways: rock on!

adg211288 US metal vocalist Lance King has been in quite the handful of bands by this stage of his career, but it’s taken until 2011 for him to release a solo record. A Moment in Chiros is that solo album, and continues King’s work within the progressive and power metal genres. The album features a host of additional musicians including Morten Gade Sørensen (Wuthering Heights, Pyramaze), Kim Olesen (Anubis Gate), Jacob Hansen (Anubis Gate, Invocator etc), Michael Harris (Darkology, Thought Chamber), Elyes Bouchoucha, Malek Ben Arbia and Anis Jouini (all of Myrath), not to mention several others. In other words there are far too many to list here without dominating the review.

I first encountered Lance King through the band Pyramaze and their album Legend of the Bone Carver, which turned out to be the last for Lance to record with them. The music of A Moment in Chiros puts me somewhat in mind of Pyramaze’s style, although it is noticeably much more openly progressive. Where Pyramaze produced power metal with progressive tendencies Lance King is putting out progressive metal with power metal tendencies. It’s a rebalancing of influences between the two styles, but I can see fans of Lance’s work with Pyramaze lapping up A Moment in Chiros. It also puts me in mind of Anubis Gate’s recent work due to the highly melodic approach to creating progressive metal. With AG’s Kim Olesen being one of the most key instrumentalists here, contributing guitars, bass and keyboards as well as producing the album with his former AG band mate Jacob Hansen, maybe that’s not surprising.

A Moment in Chiros is a solid outing of progressive metal. While highly melodic there are plenty of heavy riffs to sink your teeth into and personally speaking I don’t think I’ve heard Lance King sing better than this. He came across as something of an acquired taste in the Pyramaze days but puts on the sort of performance here that is an instant attention grabber. I haven’t heard the music from all the projects Lance has been involved in, but for me this is without a doubt his best vocal performance so far.

And the music behind him doesn’t let him down either. The tracks are varied, professionally produced and well played. There is a little use of electronic elements but fortunately they don’t hinder this album as they have done in some other metal albums. That’s because they’re there for flavour and don’t dominate the core progressive metal style, something which is never compromised throughout the album’s eleven tracks, although there is the seemingly obligatory ballad in 777. Kibou. Being a concept album is does also fall prey to the use of narration (one reason why it instantly reminded me of Legend of the Bone Carver) that ultimately neither helps nor harms the record in my view.

While there are a couple of tracks that aren’t up to the same standard as the album’s best offerings A Moment in Chiros is overall a highly consistent progressive metal effort from Lance King and his collaborators. An exceptional score is more than deserved and I’m looking forward to hearing more solo work from Lance King.

9.0/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

dtguitarfan What an incredibly interesting, incredibly diverse album! Do you want to really hear the potential of Progressive Metal? Listen to this album! I will say that I believe one reason I can be certain that this album is a masterpiece is due to the fact that I have previously not been a huge fan of Suspyre. I always liked their music, but found it a bit too experimental and eccentric, to the point of being incoherent. In this album, they have kept their experimental and eccentric side, but have found a coherence that makes the music amazing. My favorite track on the album was Tranquility and Stress, which perfectly paints the picture of the emotional transition from Tranquility to Stress. I also loved The Whispers Never Written (especially the clever reference to Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca - does anybody remember Hunt the Wumpus?), and The Man Made of Stone. I was completely blown away by this album when I didn't even expect much from it, and listened to it four times in a two week period.

dtguitarfan While this may not be my favorite Symphony X album, I think it might be the first I'd recommend to Metal fans of other sub-genre's, though the jury is still out between Iconoclast and Paradise Lost. As a fan of all things Progressive, my favorite tracks on the album are the title track, and When All Is Lost. While Symphony X does still show off their Progressive creds in those two tracks, the album as a whole is possibly their darkest to date, and has more Power Metal elements, with an often mechanical feel (to go along with the subject matter of the lyrics). As such, this may be their most widely appealing album, and would be one I'd be proud to recommend to a fan of other Metal sub-genres. The opening track, Iconoclast, is a great introduction to the band for anyone who hasn't heard them - kind of summing up everything they're about. It opens with a bang, with some very heavy, speedy, dark, complicated riffs. This complex/heavy feel dominates the 11 minute epic, and is sure to appeal to both fans of their dark side and fans of their complex, progressive side. And the album (or the first CD, if you bought the 2 disc version) finishes with another epic - When All Is Lost. This one has a much lighter feel to start out, but builds to a fantastic crescendo, and contains some impressive instrumental sections where SX shows off their technique of layering instruments with different rhythm patters on top of each other. Throughout the disc, Russel Allen's vocals shine - his vocals are always pure man, and I've always considered him to be one of the top Metal vocalists.

Time Signature Move that groove...

Genre: instrumental progressive metal

Originally released in 1999, "Guitar Talk" will be rereleased tomorrow on Lion Music. Marcel Coenen is the guitar wizard who casts his spells of fretboard magic upon the music of Sun Caged, but he also releases guitar-centric instrumental music every now and then under his own name.

Ever the guitar virtuoso, Coenen's main focus on this release is on the guitar leads, as he impresses with technically advanced solo playing, showcasing his phenomenal skills as a guitar player. And, I am impressed - very impressed - and I enjoy listening to hisb guitar acrobatics from beginning to end.

Unfortunately, I think this release suffers from the same problems as many other releases by guitar heroes: while the lead guitar is in focus, everything else is basically just there to be there. And the same problem applies here. The drums sound mechanical (they are probably programmed to some extent) and the bass, while at least audible, only contributes minimally (the bonus track 'Six String Shuffle' is the exception here as the rest of the instrumentation is allowed to shine as well). There are places, where the rhythm guitar is allowed to engage in some cool grooves (such as in 'Independence Day' and 'Shoreline'), which i appreciate.

So, my beef with this release is no different from my beef with the typical guitar hero release. The whole point of such releases, however, is of course, the showcasing of the guitarist's skills as a lead guitar player, and Marcel Coenen definitely succeeds here. Personally, I enjoy this album, like I mentioned, but I would probably prefer listening to Sun Caged.

But, if you are into guitar virtuoso-style instrumental metal, then prepare to be impressed by the fire that springs from Marcel Coenen's fingers.

dtguitarfan Sympathetic Resonance is an album that was rumored to be the next Fates Warning album. I'm actually quite pleased it was not, though I do happen to be a Fates Warning fan. Featuring the vocals of former Fates Warning vocalist John Arch and Fates Warning’s guitarist Jim Matheos, there were of course many high expectations for this album. What I find unique about this album is the complete absence of keyboards, a common piece of a Progressive Metal band. Despite this absence, the band has a HUGE sound. And while it is most definitely a Progressive Metal album, it would be very accessible to fans of other Metal sub-genres. Sounding like a cross between Queensryche and Rush at times, with bombastic heavy guitar riffs and Led Zeppelin-esque vocals, this album will rock your socks off!

dtguitarfan I find it fascinating that there was a lot of buzz about this album in Progressive Metal circles, and yet it is on Prog Archives being classified as Neo Prog. To me, the fact that this band seems to transcend genre classification is a mark of greatness. This is an extremely polished, well-engineered, and carefully composed album. And it's no surprise as the band was originally intended to be the side project of seasoned Prog artists Arno Menses (Vocals) and Markus Steffen (Guitars) formerly of Sieges Even. I've heard people compare this band to Yes, The Police, Dream Theater - all very different styles, and it's clear that while there may be influences from these and other bands, this band has their own style to offer. And while I don't often even notice lyrics, I couldn't help but notice how amazingly descriptive the lyrics of this album are - filled with metaphorical descriptions. I think with this album, Subsignal has created a unique and interesting work of art.

dtguitarfan Celestial Entrance is the 2nd studio album by Pagan's Mind, and in this album we see potential realized. It is perhaps the most musically interesting of their albums, containing possibly the most interesting song structures, time signature changes, and technical wizardry. Some highlights include the dizzying instrumental "Back to the Magic of Childhood, Part 2: Exploring Life", the frightening metal sounds of "...Of Epic Questions", the spookiness of "The Prophecy of Pleiades", and the fist pumping "Aegean Shores". This is a perfect album for someone who loves Power Metal, and wants to experience Progressive Metal without diving in headfirst, and conversely would be a great album for any Progressive Metal lover who wants to try out some Power Metal.

dtguitarfan God's Equation is the fourth studio album of this band, and while in many ways they sound much more polished, I personally felt like I was starting to see their decline, a conclusion that was re-inforced for me with their fifth album: Heavenly Ecstasy. I say this because I noticed in this album a decline in the interesting time-signature changes and technical playing I had heard in the previous two albums. This being said, God's Equation is a stellar album - the sound production is improved from the last album, and some of my favorite songs by the band are actually on this album, including the epic Osiris' Triumphant Return, the otherworldly Painted Skies, spacey sounding Spirit Starcruiser, and heavy monsters Evolution Exceed and Alien Kamikaze.

dtguitarfan Oh, Pagan's Mind, how you broke my heart with this album. I expected so much from you, based on your previous works. But with this album you commited the cardinal sin for me and released an album full of repetitious songs devoid of the previous mastery of time signature changes I had heard from you in the past, lacking in interesting song structure, and featuring less of the overall technical wizardry I had come to expect of you. I don't know if the switch to blue-based album covers to a red-based album cover somehow subconsciously did this to you, or if you picked a red-based album cover because you subconsciously realized you had sold out to the masses, but I was so sad as I listened to this album. I am hoping this is merely a phase - we shall see. To the readers - if you want to listen to Pagan's Mind at their best, go listen to Enigmatic: Calling, Celestial Entrance, or God's Equation.

dtguitarfan This is the album that finally convinced me that I loved Redemption. After this album, I went back to their older albums and discovered I loved them too, but before this album I used to tell a good friend of mine who was a big Redemption fan that I felt like the band was 5 instrumentalists soloing at the same time. When I heard this album, I felt like I was hearing how the band had matured and cohered. I remember also that it seemed like every time I listened to this album, my favorite song on the album changed as I discovered I loved another song on the album. It is still hard to pick a favorite, though I would like to mention the song, Keep Breathing. This song was written by one of the two guitarists, Nick Van Dyk, about his daughter Parker, who has a degenerative disease causing her to lose her eyesight. The lyrics explain how as a father he can't stand to see his daughter in pain, but at the same time is amazed at her strength and bravery and tells her that it inspires him to go on. As a Progressive Metal fan, this doesn't happen to me very often, but the first time I heard this song I had to pull over as the tears began to flow. The whole album is powerful, and don't be surprised if your speedometer begins to climb as you listen to this album.

dtguitarfan This is one of those bands that became a favorite of mine almost right away. I actually wasn't sure about it the first time I listened to their debut, but after each listen I loved them more and more. While some people compare them to Dream Theater, and I do hear the resemblence, they also have a style their own - a little more laid back, relying less on lightning fast riffs, and building more on the compound rhythms. This is quite possibly one of my top 10 most played albums in my collection - one I keep coming back to after periods away, and I would recommend it to anyone.

dtguitarfan Another milestone album, both for Metal and Progressive music. This album is quite possibly the most important album in the history of Progressive Metal - kind of a game changer, genre-defining album. For me, this is a personal milestone as I feel I began to truly understand what Progressive music was all about through this album. I had already started getting into Dream Theater, and had a couple of their other albums when I started listening to this one. I remember HATING Metropolis Pt. 1 - absolutely loathed it. I don't remember why, but I did. But a funny thing happened - part of the instrumental section got lodged within my brain and I could not shake it loose. It would repeat over and over again. So I decided to listen to the song again. I loathed it a little less, and this time I thought "hmm, there's something interesting going on there, but I don't know what." I had to listen to this song again now, and did so a few more times and then I had an epiphany. I began to understand how the band was switching time signatures (compound time), and though I didn't understand fully, thought they might even be layering different time signatures on top of each other. This is when I began to truly appreciate and understand what Progressive music was about, and also probably the point at which Dream Theater became my favorite band.

The Angry Scotsman "Systematic Chaos" seems to be one of the least popular DT albums, and I understand why. It's more metal oriented, like "Train of Thought", which appears to be an automatic turn off to many fans. However, unlike "Train of Thought", this album is a bit commercial sounding, which of course is a turn of to fans of prog rock and metal in general. I'll admit, I used to be in that latter camp, but many years later I've re-listened and "Systematic Chaos" is a pretty decent album.

I feel a bit foolish taking the "accessible" pill, because it sometimes comes across like this is pop rock, which is quite obviously not true. There are certainly accessible, (or modern, as Portnoy tried to sugar coat) moments but this is actually a very heavy, technical album for DT.

Maybe it's a tad less progressive than standard DT, but it's still prog and really it becomes an issue of splitting hairs... So if you are one who gets caught on the "less progressive" thing, or demand your DT be more melodic in nature, well don't even bother with this one.

"In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 1" is the first part of a 25 minute song that book ends the album. It starts off, awesome. Real awesome: a heavy, progressive intro, intense drumming, lots of bass and keyboard and a frantic climax. After your mind is blown it moves to a slower, melodic section. The first 5 minutes are a killer intro. The song then alternates between a heavy wall of chords and spidery riff. The bass is pretty prominent, finally!, and there's a good dose of keyboard. Maybe the wall of chords is "accessible" but damn, call me a metal head: I like it! At least in small doses like this. Song can get a bit stale, but it's real solid and a great opener. Lots of intensity and technicality.

"Forsaken" is sadly quite bland, and I really don't like it.

"Constant Motion" is back to riff based prof metal, and damn are there some great riffs. The song is packed with them, and some are quite groovy. A real progressive song, again loaded with great melodies, riffs and technicality. Again, the bass is nice and audible, which still floors me since you can never hear Myung. Good song, and the few accessible sections don't hang around too long.

"The Dark Eternal Night" now this one is a trip. Some major off tempo grooving and thrashing right off the start. Unfortunately they use those distorted "evil" sounding vocals at times which kind of bug me. Still, gotta love that groove. There's a lengthy middle section that is insane and all over the place, it's awesome. A tornado of music. This kicks into a flat out thrash metal part, and it's pretty intense. That's what I'm talking about...some DT that kicks your ass! This song rocks.

"Repentance" gives us a break, and a pretty nice one. The next part in the twelve step suite, this a pretty mellow, spacey song. Dare I say, Pink Floyd esque? Well why not? Portnoy said so, really it's a pretty accurate description. It's a nice song, real drifty, somber but not too bleak. Featured are several spoken word contributions from some big names, apologizing or repenting to people they have wronged.

"Prophets of War" is a straightforward and riffy, mid tempo song. It's not bad but kind of drags on. A not too aggressively anti Iraq war song, complete with fan group cries. Alright but a little boring.

"The Ministry of Lost Souls" is a long, slower and melodic song. Well, it starts that way, picks up a bit at times and really kicks into high gear in the middle. Then follows some DT w**kery with many guitar and key solos. A bit DT by the numbers, but it's not a bad song. The slower parts can be nice but also drag at times. Nice ending, overall not too shabby.

The album ends with "In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 2" because every prog band needs an album with Pink Floyd style book ends. It picks where the opener left off, and slowly builds to peaks and valleys, before reaching the shreddery. Another DT song that is fine, I'd say even good, but leaves me a bit cold. Can't knock it though, has everything you'd expect and is well done. I'm sure some will knock the cheese factor, but as usual I say just take that cheese and make a pizza with it. This is prog metal.

So after some listens, this turned out to be a pleasantly surprising album. Not spectacular, but pretty good. If you can get over the "accessible" and "more metal" hurdles you should find it a fine album. Heavy, (very heavy) technical, progressive and intense. It has all you want, and done very well, including lots of bass! "The Dark Eternal Night" is killer, as is "Repentance" just in a different way. Stand out tracks in my book.

Three and a Half Stars.

dtguitarfan Beyond the Bridge hail from the home of the Berlin Wall, the hamburger and Ludwig van Beethoven. From what I've read, they've actually been around since 1999, although they were originally under the name "Fallout". I think they're new name sounds more imaginative. "The Old Man and the Spirit" is a concept album that had been in the works for five years until its first studio recording in 2008. It was not completed until 2011. The time it took was worth it. The instrumentals are fantastic, though never overdone. The vocals are wonderful, and the trading off between male and female singers adds a lot of feeling and color that helps to drive the plot of the album forward. This is an excellent album. I loved it at first listen, and then repeated it four or five times within the next few weeks. I found it hard to stop listening to it. The album's plot reminds me of Ebenezer Scrooge a bit. It's like a diary at times. There are two main characters, the old man, played by Herbie Langhans, and the Spirit, played by Dilenya Mar. The Spirit expresses lyrical wisdom to share with the Old Man in exchange for his feelings and experiences to answer all of his questions. Her wisdom eventually guides him to the meaning of life. The style is a wonderful mix of classic Prog, 80's metal, Thrash at times, and Classical.

The Angry Scotsman This album seems to be one of the lesser liked in the Dream Theater discog, but I love it. In fact, it's my favorite DT album.

When I first heard "Train of Thought" I only knew the classic DT albums: 6 Degrees, Metropolis, I&W and Awake. So I was pretty shocked by this albums heaviness and profanity, (not that I care at all, but for DT it raised an eyebrow). "Train of Thought" is certainly more "metal" than most DT albums. It's heavier and bit less progressive than most of the band's output, but it is still progressive. A bit more riff based than standard DT, and there are some epic riffs to be found. There are plenty of blazing guitar and keyboard solos, a pretty good drumming display and fine vocals. While they never really wow me (and can sometimes grate), it seems I don't dislike LaBrie nearly as much as I used to.

"As I Am" is a bit straightforward, but a good metal song. Some cool riffs and moments.

"This Dying Soul" is more intense and progressive. Pretty cool song, though I don't like the distorted vocals that are used at times. Second half is pretty crazy and has some classic DT madness.

Then we get to the best 2 songs of the album.

"Endless Sacrifice" is an awesome song, heavy and progressive. The main riff/chorus part makes me rock so hard. The middle section is awesome, and topped off with doses of epic shreddery and technicality. Great song, and it leads into my favorite from the album:

"Honor Thy Father" Now this is some brutal prog metal. Heavy, groovy, intense, progressive, filled with epic riffs and melodies. Hefty doses of technicality, off tempo, solos and even keyboards are thrown around, and some pretty good drumming to boot. The song really moves and is hard to not groove or thrash around to.

"Vacant" gives us a breather with a somber keyboard and bass piece, with some cello too. Pretty but also quite melancholy, especially when taken with the lyrics about LaBrie watching his young daughter fall into a coma...some heavy stuff.

"Stream of Consciousness" is an 11 minute instrumental. Turn the volume up, because I love when the first riff hits you. Like any good prog epic it takes you on quite a journey, and you'll hear a bit of everything. Lots of keyboard, more than the previous songs as well as more of that famed DT wizardry then we've seen thus far. Not the best prog instrumental I've heard but a pretty damn good song for sure.

"In the Name of God" finishes the album with its longest song, at 14 minutes. It drags a bit at times, and for the first time on ToT LaBrie's singing kind of bugs me, (but it's not terrible) and is a good song still. With the rest of the album there are some sweet riffs, grooves and melodies throughout. A good song, but actually could've use a bit of trimming. "Stream of Consciousness" would've been a better finale in my opinion, especially since it fits with "Train of Thought" as an idea but ah well.

So after all these years I still love the more riffy, heavy DT. Some fans seem to be displeased with the more metal, less proggy sound but if you like metal, and if you like prog then I really don't see why you wouldn't like "Train of Thought". It's some heavy, dark and still progressive prog metal, what's not to love?

Four and a Half Stars

dtguitarfan One of the first things I thought as I listened to this album was "these guys sound like...Fates Warning mixed with Epica...no, that's not it...not at all...." I was immediately struck by this sense of familiarity, and yet I could not put my finger on particular influences. This is a good thing. Another impression I had during the first song was that I felt like I was in a movie - a very dramatic one. The whole album was not like this, however, but the band played with changing syncopated rhythm patterns, thunderous drums, and driving guitar rhythms throughout. They even have a jazzier side that they demonstrate in Swimming Through Desserts. The album ends with a great 16 minute epic that is worth the cost of the album alone. This is an excellent choice for any fan or female-fronted metal, and I can say that this is an excellent addition to my collection that I will come back to again and again.

dtguitarfan I want to take a moment to encourage anyone who listened to Circus Maximus' first album, The 1st Chapter (how appropriately titled, eh?), and found it good but not good enough to keep listening to try this album out. They've really developed their own individuality in this album, the album has a more polished feel, more professional sound mixing, and I feel overall they've shown that their potential is being realized. I want to point out and focus on the real prog gems of the album, but the album over all is a masterpiece, having a "something for everyone" type of setup where each song is showcasing different elements of the band. This band has a way of writing, dare I say, "radio-friendly" prog songs that have a deceptively simple feel to them, but underneath are subtle time-signature changes, and they will often surprise you with a very cool proggy instrumental at the end of such a song. But like I said, I want to point out a couple of the songs that really stick out to me as Progressive monsters. For example, the instrumental "Sane No More" shines, competing with Dream Theater's "Dance of Eternity" in the "Best Instrumental Progressive Rock Song" and "Most Time Signature Changes In a Song" categories, and I nominate "Mouth of Madness" in the "Best Progressive Metal Epic of the Year" category. But I point these out only to try to focus attention on these as some of the more complex and, to me, interesting pieces of the album. All throughout the album are strewn good progressive elements, but what makes this band extraordinary are their ability to hold back at times and be more subtle, in order to appeal to a broader audience. For example, "Arrival of Love" has a feel that reminds me of Def Leppard, with a more classic rock feel to it, but then they start to drop in some nice time signature changes Matts Haugen's guitar work is showcased very well. And "From Childhood's Hour" starts out with a very dark, heavy feel but abbruptly changes to a quieter, more poppy feel. But then in the chorus you can allmost hear them saying "Ha! Fooled you! We're a Progressive Metal band baby!" as they throw in some time changes and heavy rhythm guitar. And at the end of the song there is a very cool instrumental section that starts out with some mysterious sliding guitar sounds, and then abruptly shifts to a much heavier Prog Metal sound. This band has created a lot of buzz in Prog Metal circles, and I am going to say it is well deserved.

dtguitarfan I have been a long time Dream Theater fan,as my username might suggest. Dream Theater, for me, is the band that expanded my way of thinking about music, caused the Progressive Rock addiction in me, and made me realize I was no longer interested in pop music. For over 10 years, my favorite Dream Theater album was Metropolis Part 2: Scene From A Memory. While I loved their albums that came after, nothing came close to the quality of this album,in my mind. During this time, I also believed that Images and Words was a very, very close 2nd place. I say this to show you that it is not a fickle statement for me to say that A Dramatic Turn of Events is now my favorite Dream Theater album. While I immediately, upon first listen, knew the album was amazing, I had to listen to the album, and the other two I have mentioned, repeatedly (and over the period of 8 months) to come to this decision. I truly believe this to be a necessary part in the collection of a Progressive Rock or Progressive Metal fan.

dtguitarfan What can I say about a true masterpiece? If I were to list the top 10 Progressive Rock albums EVER...this would be in the top 5. I would want to put it at #1 myself, though in the end historical perspective would win over. However, this is perhaps the most important album in the history of Dream Theater, as it was the point in which they finally made some headway in their careers. This is a brilliant masterpiece of musical storytelling, with musical themes being reused and expounded on. On top of this, the complexity is amazing. I actually bought a book of Dream Theater scores, to see if it would help me figure out the time signatures in The Dance of Eternity. Even with the book in front of me, I just can't count it. And I LOVE this piece for that very reason! Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, 5 stars.

dtguitarfan Anubis Gate is a band I have been following since A Perfect Forever and yet I never quite "got" them....until this album. I had always felt like I could almost say I loved them but at the same time didn't really care about them. When I heard this album, something clicked, and I found out I really loved this band. I went back and listened to their other albums after I heard this album, and discovered I had been missing quite a bit. Anubis Gate has a unique style for a Progressive Metal band. I think one of the main ingredients that makes them so unique is their vocal harmonies, where they blend together unusual chord progressions with very full harmonies often containing dissonants to fill out the harmony. On top of this, they layer the instrumentals quite well, crafting a complex tapestry of sound. I have discovered I loved this band through this album, and I hope many others will too.

dtguitarfan Animals as Leaders is one of those bands that completely took me by surprise. I've heard a lot of extraordinary music, and plenty of mediocre music, but no matter who told me these guys were amazing, I wouldn't have been prepared for what was to come. They are completely unique - I'd describe their style as "Progressive Jazz/Metal/Techno Fusion". Or something like that. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this band is that there are only 3 members, and no bassist. They are strictly instrumental. The lead guitarist of the band, Tosin Abasi, has developed a unique style of guitar playing where he combines guitar playing techniques with bass playing techniques, and employes the use of an 8 stringed guitar that has a bass string or two. I highly recommend looking up Tosin Abasi on youtube sometime ? it will be one of the most amazing musical feats you've ever witnessed, I promise. When I listen to Animals as Leaders, I find it hard to go back to listening to anyone else - this music is so beautifully complex that after hearing it everything else seems less amazing, and often I must listen to something simplistic and soothing to sort of cleanse the palette, if you will. In this, their first album, Animals as Leaders has this amazing method of building up an agressive soundscape filled with dirty heavy riffs and dissonance that builds and crescendos until you almost can't take it, and then all of a sudden they abbruptly pull back, shocking the listener with the beautiful contrast. The technicality of the riffage is simply astounding, and Tosin Abasi pulls off feats of musicality that I never thought possible. Behind all of this, drummer Navene Koperweis astounds with his layering, thunderous rhythm section. This album is one of those albums where I found that on first listen, certain songs stood out to me while others I didn't like so much, but after subsequent listens my perspective would change and I would have new favorites after each listen. This album is a perspective changing masterpiece.

dtguitarfan Animals as Leaders is one of those bands that completely took me by surprise. I've heard a lot of extraordinary music, and plenty of mediocre music, but no matter who told me these guys were amazing, I wouldn't have been prepared for what was to come. They are completely unique - I'd describe their style as "Progressive Jazz/Metal/Techno Fusion". Or something like that. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this band is that there are only 3 members, and no bassist. They are strictly instrumental. The lead guitarist of the band, Tosin Abasi, has developed a unique style of guitar playing where he combines guitar playing techniques with bass playing techniques, and employes the use of an 8 stringed guitar that has a bass string or two. I highly recommend looking up Tosin Abasi on youtube sometime - it will be one of the most amazing musical feats you've ever witnessed, I promise. When I listen to Animals as Leaders, I find it hard to go back to listening to anyone else - this music is so beautifully complex that after hearing it everything else seems less amazing, and often I must listen to something simplistic and soothing to sort of cleanse the palette, if you will. Weightless is the second album by AAL, and in this album we find they have toned down the aggressive passages just a bit, and explored their Jazz Fusion side a little bit more I think. There is more of that electronica sound this time around as well. You will hear Tosin experiment with new techniques that did not appear on the first album.

dtguitarfan I have many fond memories of listening to this album while developing pictures in a darkroom, and what a perfect place to listen to music like this - in the odd glow of the red light. This band defies categorization - if someone asked me what style they played I'd have to say it's some sort of Progressive Jazz/Metal Fusion, but whatever it is, it is unique. The team-up between Derek Sherinian, Tony Macalpine, and Virgil Donati is amazing - with the insanely complex poly-rhythms between Donati and Sherinian over-layed by Macalpine's masterful sense of melody, it is a perfect pairing. Macalpine seems to make sense of the odd rhythms of the rest of the band with his melodic guitar and the effect astounds.

dtguitarfan Yes. Five stars. I firmly believe this album is a masterpiece. Actually, I would say all of Seventh Wonder's albums but the very first, Become, are masterpieces. From the first time I heard "Waiting in the Wings" I was absolutely amazed. And I have never been disappointed by consecutive listens, nor have I been disappointed in their follow-up albums (Mercy Falls and The Great Escape - though I hope for many to come...). This band continues to be fresh, and their chops are unmatched. They are, I believe, Prog-Metal's best kept secret, and I wish they would make it big. It truly breaks my heart that they aren't making enough money on music to support themselves. As my username suggests, I am a big Dream Theater fan. But, even though Dream Theater are and have been my favorite band for many years, I'll let you in on a little secret: I think Seventh Wonder is a better band.

Mercy Falls is a concept album, the plot of which is a little mysterious. I will tell you what I know: at the beginning of the album, there is a car accident. We find out that the male in the car accident is in the hospital in a coma, and his wife and son visit him at different stages in the album. His father also comes to visit him at one point. The album goes back and forth between these visits in the real world, and some sort of dream world the man is in, called Mercy Falls, where he becomes part of the community and helps out during a storm. In the real world, they try a bone marrow transplant from the man's son, but it doesn't work. In the end, the wife says her final goodbye, and decides to turn off the mans life support. The truth is finally revealed to us, and while passing into the afterlife, the man remembers that the wife had an affair and that the man's son was not actually his (thus the reason the transplant didn't work). The last song is called the Black Parade, and I'm not sure but think it is the man's passing into the afterlife. Whatever the plot, the music takes the listener through a roller-coaster of emotions and helps to fill the plot with mystery.

dtguitarfan From start to finish, this album is extraordinary. Seventh Wonder has a way of writing a melody that could be the melody for a very ordinary pop song, and underlaying it with an incredible, exciting, ever-changing and astoundingly complex instrumental background like no other. The stars of the band are Tommy Karevik ? the singer with the voice so smooth he should be called Velvet, Andreas Blomqvist ? the bassist who laughs in the face of guitar shredders, and Johan Liefvendahl ? the guitarist who says "what does Mozart have on me anyways?" Every note on this album sounds more crisp and amazing than every note on 99% of every other album the world over. These guys are technically astounding while being stunningly beautiful at the same time.

A definite highlight of this album is the 30 minute title track, The Great Escape, a concept song based on the poems 'Aniara' by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson. It deals with the tragedy of a space ship which, originally bound for Mars with a cargo of surviving colonists from a ravaged and destroyed Earth, is ejected from the solar system and becomes entangled in an existential struggle. The first track 'Wiseman' doubles loosely as a prequel to the events of 'The Great Escape'.

These guys are a jewel in the crown of Progressive Metal and it is truly a shame that they are also one of Prog Rock's and Metal's best kept secrets.

dtguitarfan Wow. Futuristic. Thunderously heavy. But a band that knows when to pull back and wait for crescendo. Anubis Gate has a knack for laying textures on top of each other to weave a complex pattern. Another trait I find descriptive of the band is how they use very interesting vocal harmonies - very full, rich chords. The band lost their vocalist after A Perfect Forever, and their producer, Jacob Hansen, stepped up to the plate, and what a powerful voice he has - very reminiscent of Geoff Tate from Queensryche. The name of the band, Anubis Gate, was taken from a Science Fiction novel, and I find the sound of the band characterizes this base in Sci Fi very well. The album, Andromeda Unchained, is a concept album with a very good, unusually well developed (for a concept album) Science Fiction plot. I am incredibly impressed with how much thought the band puts into their lyrics and the plot of their concepts. This is an excellent listen, and a very underrated band that belongs with the rankings of the more well know Progressive Metal bands like Fates Warning, Symphony X, and even Dream Theater.

dtguitarfan Pagan's Mind is a unique act that leans more towards european melodic Power Metal, but in many of their albums add progressive elements that make their music very interesting and, to be quite frank, quite wonderful. They have a dark, spacey-futuristic feel that mainly comes from the keyboard playing of Ronny Tegner. Add to this the stellar guitar work of Jorn Viggo Lofstad (who I have heard compared to Eddie Van Halen, and while I see this I feel his playing is far superior and adds some of the flavor and techniques of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani maybe) and the unearthly, often banshee-like, 80's metal-style singing of Nils K. Rue, and thunderous drumming of Stian Kristoffersen, and you have quite an amazing style.

Enigmatic: Calling is the third studio album by the band, and is probably my favorite overall. In this album, Pagan's Mind treads right on the border of Progressive and Power Metal, having one foot firmly planted on either side. The whole album has a very other-worldly, spacey, futuristic feel to it that is hard to explain, but can be perfectly summed up in the first few minutes of the final song "New World Order", which is incidentally my favorite song by the band. I would actually recommend that anyone who wants to know what this band is about go listen to that song as it perfectly showcases everything the band does so very well. But this is not the only good song on the album - the whole album is filled with head-banging, eerie, spacey metal that will have you fist-pumping all the way through. This is a perfect album for someone who loves Power Metal, and wants to experience Progressive Metal without diving in headfirst, and conversely would be a great album for any Progressive Metal lover who wants to try out some Power Metal.

The Angry Scotsman This is my re-review of "Black Clouds & Silver Linings"

When I first heard this album I hated it, so much so that I proclaimed DT had truly lost it, and by this point they should just retire. That was almost 3 years ago, and I feel differently now. This is an alright album, it's not that good but it's not bad either.

It's not really much a departure for DT, it's heavy and progressive...though maybe with more of the progressive mixed in this time. Let's say it's a bridge between the light "Octavarium" and they heavy "Systematic Chaos".

The album has 6 songs, and whenever you have a few, (generally long) songs there is a risk of the album being boom or bust. Well, of the 6 songs I like 3, and the other 3 are kind of bland so I guess they managed alright. 3 good 3 not so good, that's about as middle of the road as you can.

The 3 songs I like are ironically start, middle and finish: "A Nightmare to Remember", "The Shattered Fortress" and "The Count of Tuscany". The remaining 3 are not bad songs at all, but just kind of boring. They don't really do anything for me and I find it hard to finish them, at least without feeling bored.

"A Nightmare to Remember" is quite a way to start the album: heavy, progressive and operatic. There's a pretty dark tone to the song. It starts with a rainy, somber intro but kicks into a dramatic section complete with some gnarly double bass. Actually this song is one of the more intense outputs from Portnoy. Anyway, that's how to describe this song, heavy, progressive and operatic. It is all those things, it never gets stale since no part hangs around too long, and unlike some other DT songs I get a real sense of movement. There are some groovy riffs, intense drumming, melodic parts, guitar and keyboard solos, it has it all.

I'm not a big fan of LaBrie's vocals but on this song, and the entire album, they are actually fine. Don't blow me away, but they are fine...and for some time "A Nightmare to Remember", during the the quieter part, I really like them. Later on are the infamous Portnoy "growls" and I say that because they are not growls. If so then they are a weak ass attempt at growls! Anywho, it's actually not bad more laughable than anything, but not so terrible if you just go with it. The blast beats near the end are real weird, doesn't sound right...kind of like they just stuck em in there. A pretty good song though overall.

"The Shattered Fortress" is the conclusion of the epic "12 step suite" about Portnoy's problem with alcoholism. It contains musical and lyrical references to all the previous songs, and at first I thought this was a bit of a cop out, (yeah just stitch the previous together) but it's really a good song. Heavy and quite progressive, I like it. It's without the grandiose, operatic touches of the album opener...more of a heavy metal prog song that reminds me of my favorite DT album, "Train of Thought". Some epic riffs and sections, a damn decent song.

"The Count of Tuscany" is the 19 minute finale, and my favorite on the album. It's the only song I liked originally, and I now can say it's my favorite post "Train of Thought" song the band has done. Truly progressive, there is a great flow and feel throughout. I am quick to say how DT aren't the best songwriters out there, and often leave me a bit cold, but not this time. The actual music and song structure are well done, a very well composed piece. It never gets too heavy, too epic, some real cool riffs and movements, it's perfection.

The lyrics are weird and silly, supposedly based on a true story where Petrucci, I guess, was offered a car tour by the Count of Tuscany. Then he meets his weird brother and the whole experience has him fearing for his life, I don't know it's weird but I never was one for lyrics. More important are vocals and again they are quite fine. Those Portnoy "growls" pop back up but they are backing and not solo, and actually work! I'll be honest I love when they yell "I!". Great music, song structure and a good vocal display from LaBrie.

So there we have it. I have a bit of a rep as a DT basher so I decided to focus a lot on the songs I like, (see I can be nice). The overall album is decent, I quite enjoy half the songs and the rest I can easily live without. That is a middle of the road album, but not a bad one. DT fans will like it, haters won't, casual/moderate fans should get some enjoyment.

Two and a Half Stars

Time Signature A sense of urgency...

Genre: progressive metal

The seasoned vocalist Lance King has fronted many bands throughout his career, and last year the time came for him to release a solo album - namely "A Moment in Chiros", which is released on his own Nightmare Records.

Stylistically, "A Moment in Chiros" falls under the rubric of progressive power metal which might be described as a blend of Anubis Gate and Queensrÿche (back when Rÿche were more interesting). Artistically, I think that the type of melodic progressive power metal that Lance King delivers is actually quite successful. The performance is tight and there is a certain groove to the compositions, which also strike me as multi-layered and dynamic, but never so whimsical or quirky, that the casual listener can't keep up. King's flirtation with keyboards and electronic elements every now and then could be a recipe for potential disaster to some, but he more than gets away with it, as it actually fits very well into the very melodic sound.

We are definitely dealing with sophisticated and progressive music. However, a central element is a good dose of catchy melodies - especially in the choruses - which is why "A Moment in Chiros" is not prone to alienating people who are not into progressive or avant-garde music. Lance King's voice reminiscent of that of Geoff Tate at times - but also quite unique, and the way he delivers his vocals (with plenty of clarity and power) is destined to make the tunes on the album even more compelling than they already are instrumentally.

Additionally, the drumming (provided by Morten Gade Sørensen og Wuthering Heights and Pyramaze fame) is as precise as a clock, and guitar solos from Anubis Gate's Kim Olesen are nothing less than virtuous. Unfortunately, the bass is not as prominent in the overall mix as it should be, but it serves its purpose.

Fans of progressive metal and progressive power metal along the lines of Queensrÿche, Artizan, Anubis Gate and Pyramaze should check this album out and enjoy the streamlined and sophisticated melodic music it has to offer.

Time Signature Through the madness...

Genre: melodic thrash / power-thrash

Teramaze are branded as a progressive thrash band, and this description has also been applied to their latest effort "Anhedonia". Well, to be honest, I am not sure how progressive I think this album is. It definitely has a a lot of sophistication to it, and there are a couple of odd time signatures and other elements of finesse every now and then, but is that enough to make it progressive?

In any case, we are dealing with melodic thrash metal here - at times even describable as power-thrash. And melodic thrash which, in my opinion, is not only original, but also pretty damn good. The combination of melodic vocals, riffage which is at times melodic and at times aggressive but always sophisticated, and rock solid drums works incredibly well, which we hear already in the opening title track.

While grounded in melodic thrash metal, there are also elements from modern rock in general to be found on this album, and this influence is especially prevalent in Brett Rerekura's at times AIC-like vocals. In the big picture all of these elements fit neatly into the overall sound, as does the crisp and well defined production.

So, this is a very good work of melodic thrash metal, which I find inspiring and invigorating. There is a sad note attached here, though, as Julian Percy, who plays the drums on this album, died from heart problems in 2009 and thus never lived to see the release of "Anhedonia". But, given the sheer quality of the music and the artistic success that this album is, what better way to honor and commemorate Percy than through "Anhedonia"?

Fans of melodic thrash metal should definitely check out this release. It is aggressive but melodic and sophisticated. It is already an artistic success, but you can help make it a well-deserved commercial success, too.

UMUR "Your Last Orison" is the debut full-length studio album by multi-national progressive thrash metal act End Amen. The album was released through Institute of Art in 1992. End Amen was a shortlived project founded by Dan Rock (guitars) and Norman Legggio (drums) of Psychotic Waltz, Uwe Osterlehner (vocals, guitars) of Deathrow and Siggi Blasey (bass, keyboards) of Crash Museum, during the collaborative 1992 tour in support of "Into the Everflow (1992)" by Psychotic Waltz and "Life Beyond (1992)" by Deathrow.

The music on the album is progressive/technical thrash metal with the emphasis on the thrash metal part of the sound rather than on the progressive metal ditto. If you are familiar with the last couple of Deathrow albums, the music on "Your Last Orison" is pretty much down that alley, but not nearly as powerful or technical. The progressive metal part of the sound pops up on occasion. It´s especially some parts with keyboards that leads my thoughts in that direction and then the title track. It´s interesting to note that Dan Rock and Siggi Blasey would actually take parts of that track with them to their next collaborative project Darkstar and incorporate some of the ideas on the first album by that band. However the music on "Your Last Orison" is predominantly teutonic thrash metal with strongly German accented English language vocals. With the musicians involved it´s no surprise that the musicianship is really strong but personally I have a hard time appreciating Uwe Osterlehner staccato thrash metal vocal style. The sound production is decent but nothing special.

"Your Last Orison" is not the most cohesive album neither when it comes to album flow or the quality of the songwriting and I´d recommend listening to both Psychotic Waltz and Deathrow over this any day. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted. This is an example of an album that shifted copies because of the musicians involved rather than the quality of the music.

The Angry Scotsman I try to avoid hype, (whether it's music, movies, video games anything) to keep a clear mind and form honest opinions, and do so by avoiding said item for a while. So I really waited a good bit to listen to DT's "A Dramatic Turn of Events" but have finally gotten around to it. After giving the album some listens and fully digesting it, I can safely say while it's not a bad album at all, it's not anything great either. Like all their albums since "Octavarium" I was left a bit underwhelmed. It was a bit disappointing since I heard this album was a turn back to their progressive, melodic days.

The band does accomplish just that: the keyboards are way up, the heaviness is a bit down, and while still present the famed DT shreddery and technical w**kery are reduced. These are of course part of DT's appeal, but you have to change it up sometimes. I applaud the change, just the music itself left some to be desired overall.

The opener "On the Backs of Angels" I actually quite enjoy. A good blend of riff based and melodic based prog. It has a good flow and strong songwriting. It has a bit of all and is just very well done.

"Build Me Up, Break Me Down" has a cool spidery riff, and some nice heavy moments. The power chord chorus is a bit eh, but what can you do? Not a bad song.

"Lost Not Forgotten" is more "standard" DT filled with more technicality, w**kery, and riffing. I'm a fan of this, especially when put in a nice 10 minute prog metal song so this is probably my favorite on the album. Again, another well done song and not just a "by the numbers" which tends to be my issue with DT.

"This is the Life" is a nice light song. Keyboard driven, light guitar and drumming that builds to a melodic and powerful part. Nice to get some feeling, which despite liking the previous songs felt a bit absent of it. Pretty good song, though for the first time LaBrie's vocals get on my nerves, especially in soaring parts.

"Bridges in the Sky" starts with a quiet intro, featuring an attempt at throat singing which works semi well in my opinion. The song kicks into a heavy riff, and like the opener has a bit of everything. Good song.

"Outcry" is more of the same though I really like the middle section. A bit sluggish at times, it's not bad overall.

"Far From Heaven" a very light, keyboard and vocal driven song.

"Breaking All Illusions" I'm running out of different words to describe "more of the same" but this is actually one of the better songs on the album. Another straightforward though well done prog metal song.

The album ends with an acoustic guitar, keyboard and vocal song. Light and melodic, it's quite nice.

So I've used a lot of "good" and "a lot of the same" but that's the best way to describe "A Dramatic Turn of Events". It's a good album. Not great, but not bad, no real weak songs but none jump out at you either. It is generally well done prog metal. Good but not great, textbook definition of 3 stars in my book.

DT fans should like this, haters will find nothing to turn them on to it, and moderate/casual fans like myself will probably find it decent, and it's worth a listen.

Three Stars

Conor Fynes 'Penumbra Diffuse' - Canvas Solaris (7/10)

'Penumbra Diffuse' comes hot on the heels of one of my favourite tech metal albums ever; 'Sublimation'. Throughout their career, Canvas Solaris have been incredibly consistent since their debut, each time pursuing a very cerebral brand of instrumental music, complex and rife with atmosphere. When compared to the album that came before it, 'Penumbra Diffuse' is a marked step towards favouring the atmospheric side of their work. Although not quite reaching the mind-boggling intensity of 'Sublimation', the greater variety of styles and dynamic is an effective development.

Having become quite familiar with the Canvas Solaris records 'Cortical Tectonics' and 'Sublimation', the technical prowess of the band is virtually taken for granted this time around. Of course, and as their labelled style might imply, the complexity of the music is its greatest selling point. Not only is the trio of Sapp, Simpkins and Ginn performing at the level of masters, but the compositions themselves enjoy a thick sense of composition and arrangement. Nathan Sapp's multi-disciplinary style of guitarwork is quick to alternate between rhythm and lead playing, and though the music feels chaotic at times, there is never a moment when the band is not performing in a meticulously pre-calculated unison. Although 'Penumbra Diffuse' will still come as a system shock to the uninitiated listener, the complexity itself has been toned down from 'Sublimation'. Instead of the endlessly perplexing mathematical sequences they went through there, Canvas Solaris have taken a more moderated approach with the use of 'atmosphere'. A fairly broad term yes, but one that seeks to encompass most of the fresh things the band are doing here. From acoustic guitar sections to harmonic explorations and keyboard textures, this exchange has brought them a more balanced sound, although I think I prefer the return to madness that the next album 'Cortical Tectonics'' sought to achieve.

It would be unfair to rate anything by Canvas Solaris less than an impressive score. Although the intensity of their compositions may vary slightly depending on the album, there's no denial that each musician is at the top of their class with their respective instruments. The only weakness- if you can call it one- that Canvas Solaris' music suffers from is its pure attention to the complex and mechanical, often coming off as cold on the emotional spectrum. As such, the awe and admiration I have for their music is tempered when part of me feels less than it should. Of course, taking into consideration the 'mission' of the band to create inhumanly complex music, it is clear that Canvas Solaris have chosen to take a path that most musicians would buckle and cower underneath. In the case of 'Penumbra Diffuse', the emphasis on atmosphere may not be quite as effective as the unrelenting metal attack of the album prior, but it does give a greater feeling that may have been missing from the band's earlier work.

Conor Fynes 'Visions Fugitives' - Mekong Delta (9/10)

Prior to the release of 'Visions Fugitives', MEKONG DELTA had been no stranger to classical music. Their style of thrashy progressive metal exuded the influence of many a composer, particularly those with a darker sound to their orchestral observations. When it came to actually performing classical music however, the band up to this point had more or less limited themselves to using neoclassical tricks within their metal context, even doing a cover or two. With that in mind, 'Visions Fugitives' and its centerpiece 'Suite For Group And Orchestra' was quite a long time in the making. Although some may go to criticize the band for never going as far as to use a real-life orchestra in its recording, few albums within the 'thrash metal' umbrella have engaged me so much. Throw in a few pieces of cerebral prog metal to flesh things out, and you have a piece of work that would make the old giants of progressive rock proud.

Although 'Suite For Group And Orchestra' is planted right in the middle of the album, there is still a clear division here between the ornate classical 'epic', and the more traditional songs. Like RUSH's '2112', or FATES WARNING's 'No Exit', MEKONG DELTA follow prog metal canon by giving listeners a clear cut of both gears, although every track on 'Visions Fugitives' falls firmly within progressive metal territory. As they have in the past, MEKONG DELTA shares the neighborhood with VOIVOD and WATCHTOWER, in that their brand of thrash favours the cerebral over the speedy riffage of many of their contemporaries. Besides band founder Ralph Hubert, MEKONG DELTA has been a revolving door of musicians since their inception, and 'Visions Fugitives' is no exception. Mark Kaye brings a guitar performance to the band that fits their mission statement like a glove, fusing technicality with the sort of frantic atmosphere MEKONG DELTA had been capitalizing on with prior records. As far as MEKONG DELTA's metal edge is concerned, Douglas Lee's vocals may be the most controversial aspect of the sound. Although the complex vocalizations at the end of 'Them' declare that he is definitely has the ear for singing, his vocals have a tone to them that would fit much more comfortably in prog rock rather than thrash. Fortunately, MEKONG DELTA's metal side is never far ahead of the 'prog', and his performance here works just as well for the context as Wolfgang Borgmann's did on their debut.

The classical aspect of 'Visions Fugitives' is without a doubt the most important part of the album. Though the four progressive metal songs are too worthy of being deemed masterful in their composition, 'Suite For Group And Orchestra' takes up a damned half of the record, and a listener's appreciation of the record will brink largely on their openness to heavy metal being crossbred with classical music so openly. Although classical music has been going steady with metal since the days of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and even long before, it rarely gets to the point where the two sounds are mixed to the extent where neither is the dominant force. This is the case with 'Suite For Group And Orchestra', an elaborately composed twenty minute piece worthy of the highest commendation. Here, MEKONG DELTA mimic the atmosphere of Romantic-era classical music rather than the erudite complexity of composers before, the result being a piece with plenty of epic melody and variety, not to mention a fair deal of room for the band to incorporate their rock instruments into the fray. The soothing acoustic 'Introduction' leads into an eerie 'Preludium', complete with low horns and eerie bells to make it sound like something out of the haunted mansion in Super Mario Brothers. 'Dance' and 'Fugue' bring the piece into less frightening and more proggy, technical realms, often letting the band play powerfully without getting in the way of the orchestration. As far as the composition itself goes, it's remarkable to hear how many places both emotionally and sonically MEKONG DELTA can take a listener within a twenty minute period.

In terms of flaws, the use of a computerized, or 'fake' orchestra may not hurt the compositions or music, but there is always the feeling throughout listening to 'Visions Fugitives' that things could be even more impressive, had the band had the resources to make a full orchestral rendition of their music a reality. A less-than-excellent production quality carries over to the prog metal songs as well, with the vocals sounding somewhat muffled and less mixed than they rightfully should have been. None of these studio issues are ever enough to take away from the excellence of the band's 'vision' however; it might even be said that the muffled sound and artificial instruments even add to the atmosphere. MEKONG DELTA have long been one of the most engaging acts to come out of German thrash metal, and 'Visions Fugitives' sees them finally realize their dream of bringing classical music to the thrash realm. Even still, it feels as if this project left open room for improvement, but if MEKONG DELTA never tops the majesty they have created here, I won't be one to complain.

Time Signature Dance with the devil...

Genre: progressive metal

Fans of Lars Eric Mattsson must really be having the year of a lifetime. Not only are they treated to a rerelease of "Obsession"; there is also a new album from Mattson-led prog power metal project Book of Reflections. "Relentless Fighter" features Mattsson on guitars and Carsten Schulz from Evidence One and Marjju Kuikka of Status Minor on vocals and as co-writers.

Musically, "Relentless Fighter" is slightly heavier than Mattsson's other projects but the neoclassical guitar acrobatics for which Mattsson is famous are retained. Overall, the tracks on this album are quite progressive, featuring odd time signatures and spacey keyboards, which are put to quite good use in creating progressive quirks that go well together with Mattsson's neoclassicisms and the epic power metal-oriented choruses. I do think that the keys are perhaps a bit too dominant in some parts of 'Rise Up!', but that is probably just me.

The songs are very well put together, and I think that tracks like 'Until the Day', 'Dance With the Devil' and 'Crashing Through' are excellent, and I especially like how the synths combined with the neoclassicist approach remind me a bit of Rainbow. Other noteworthy tracks the heavy and groovy 'Somewhere Else to Be' and 'Gates to Oblivion', the latter being an instrumental with an eastern flavor to it.

While I really like the vocals and the guitar work, I think that the production is a bit too fuzzy, and the drums sounds very mechanical. This detracts a bit from the overall listening experience, but - fortunately - the music itself is still strong enough to hold its own (a more defined production and a more organic drumming style would have warranted a 4 or even 4.5 score, though).

"Relentless Fighter" is a fine guitar-driven progressive metal album with power metal elements and plenty of neoclassicisms to satisfy any fan of guitar shredding.

UMUR "Anubis Gate" is the 5th full-length studio album by Danish progressive/power metal act Anubis Gate. The album was released through Nightmare Records in September 2011. The album sees quite a significant lineup change as lead vocalist Jacob Hansen (Invocator) left the band to concentrate his efforts on his producer job and his Hansen Studios. Hansen was the frontman on both the critically acclaimed albums "Andromeda Unchained (2007)" and "The Detached (2009)". On this album bassist Henrik Fevre has taken on the vocal duties from Jacob Hansen, making Anubis Gate a four-piece. "Anubis Gate" was recorded at Hansen Studios and Jacob Hansen acts as co-producer and is also credited for mixing/mastering the album, so there´s definitely no bad blood between him and the band.

The 10 track, 60:24 minutes long album features intelligent progressive/power metal. Well composed, well played and well produced. Henrik Fevre has a slightly less distinct voice than Jacob Hansen, but he is still a great singer who suits the band´s music well. Compared to the two precessors "Anubis Gate" features slightly less synths, but the sound is still epic with beautiful anthemic choruses and layered instrumental work. They band succeed in incorporating both progressive, power and harder edged thrashy parts in their music which ultimately makes the album a varied listen.

"Anubis Gate" is more or less anything you could ask for in the more polished part of the progressive/power metal genre. It´s simply a top notch product in any way possible and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Kingcrimsonprog 1984’s The Warning is the debut studio album by the Seattle Based Progressive Metal band Queensrÿche. It was recorded in London and produced by James Guthrie who is notable for his work with Judas Priest, Pink Floyd and also Pink Floyd members’ solo albums.

Compared to all other Queensrÿche albums, it is the most traditionally Heavy Metal of their works stylistically. It is also arguably the least Progressive of their early albums, although it still shows clear signs of ambitious songwriting and a desire to push the boundaries of the genre. ‘Road To Madness’ for example is an almost ten-minute track with acoustic sections, electric sections, a symphonic sounding back-up and even a few time signature changes towards the end.

Unless you really don’t like the sound of classic Heavy Metal in the vein of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio and early Overkill then The Warning will be an instantly enjoyable album. The standard of songwriting is excellent and the tracks are all for the most part catchy and memorable with driving riffs, pleasing guitar solos and fantastic vocals from the impressive Geoff Tate.

Highlight include ‘En Force’ ‘N M 156’ ‘Child Of Fire’ and of course the aforementioned ‘Roads To Madness.

Overall, The Warning is Queensrÿche’s most straightforwardly metal album, and the band excels at delivering that style in a powerful, catchy and intelligent manner. I feel the album is pretty underrated and would happily recommend it to fans from a Metal background. If you like Queensrÿche and aren’t only in it for nothing but the Prog and the Prog alone, then you really should give the album a try.

Warthur Disperse's debut album presents a mildly spacey brand of prog metal reminiscent of the work on Porcupine Tree's recent album, with influences from the heavier side of the neo-prog scene for flavour. It presents good performances and is well-produced, but at the same time it feels a little cheesy and artificial to me; Rafal Biernacki's vocals aren't really to my taste, and the band don't really offer very much in the way of really compelling musical motifs beyond those they borrow from their influences. It's a good, enjoyable debut album, but it could be a lot better, though on balance I think Disperse have as good a chance to grow musically as anyone.

adg211288 Lost in the New Real is the second solo album to be released by Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen, although only the first to be released under his full name. His previous solo album, Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy, was released as simply Anthony in 1994. Although it’s been eighteen years between solo efforts, Lucassen has in that time made quite a name for himself within the progressive rock and metal genres with his many projects, including (most notably) Ayreon, Star One, and Guilt Machine. Like several of the Ayreon albums Lost in the New Real is a double disc effort. The fist disc contains the main album concept, while the second includes a 50/50 split of songs that didn’t quite fit into the main album and a selection of covers; the tracks being originally by Pink Floyd, Blue Öyster Cult, Led Zeppelin, The Alan Parsons Project and Frank Zappa.

Musically Lost in the New Real plays very much like an Ayreon album, highlighting Arjen Lucassen’s many influences. More accurately placing it closest to Into the Electric Castle wouldn’t be wrong because the album features heavy use of narration, performed by actor Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner). The big difference is that, as a solo album, there isn’t a host of guest vocalists and a huge cast of characters. Arjen sings all lead vocal himself in character as Mr. L (presumably the same fictional version of himself that appeared as a character in Ayreon’s 01011001). Rutger Hauer adopts the character of Voight Kampff, Mr. L’s psychological advisor. The story has ties to the Ayreon story, most evident by the presence of a Dream Sequencer on the artwork, but is its own tale.

Lost in the New Real is most definitely an eclectic album. As usual with Lucassen’s work the core style is progressive music but it very much sways between being based in rock, metal and other styles, most notably folk, although you’ll also find touches of psychedelic and symphonic sounds. The first of the discs, the main album, is all things considered mostly metal dominant, although it’s impossible to put a single accurate tag on an album such as Lost in the New Real without inventing something new and specific just for it. Lucassenism would be appropriate in that case. It’s clearly mostly a metal effort on the first disc though with two clear metal tracks in Parental Procreation Permit and Yellowstone Memorial Day, with metal appearing prominently in both The New Real and Lost in the New Real, as well as in some lesser degrees in a few of the other songs. A couple of tracks on the other hand are very much folk based, in different ways but both When I'm A Hundred Sixty-Four and Where Pigs Fly fit this side of Lucassen’s style, and although described as power pop in the album’s trailer Dr Slumber's Eternity Home has a main melody that isn’t hard to imagine in a folk context. E-Police is distinctly an upbeat styled rocking track and Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin is a psychedelic track that brings mind to Day Seven: Hope (aka Come Back to Me) from Ayreon’s The Human Equation. The rest of made up of progressive pieces but honestly the most progressive thing about the album as a whole is its genre hopping aspect. It many ways the album is very typically Lucassen, but I don’t think his fans would expect any less. Ultimately despite being a metal dominant disc it isn’t really a metal album; overall it’s Lucassen’s least metal release since Ayreon’s The Dream Sequencer. But as I said, putting a single definite tag on this is impossible.

The second disc is much less metal based. Perhaps ironically it’s usually the selection of covers that contain the most metal orientated parts, especially the Pink Floyd cover Welcome to the Machine. Overall this disc highlights progressive rock first and foremost although as with the main album, you can expect a nice variety of sounds on offer. Of course as with any good music genre is ultimately irrelevant. No matter what style Arjen turns to during Lost in the New Real he maintains the high level of quality.

Since Arjen Lucassen isn’t most known as a singer I think it’s definitely worth giving over a paragraph dedicated just to his vocals in this review. Arjen is easily his own biggest critic when it comes to vocals so it’s definitely a brave move to get a record where he’s unashamedly the lead vocalist. Lucassen will never be a full out metal singer of the calibre of your Bruce Dickinson’s or your Russell Allen’s or but he does know his own material, and sings the whole of Lost in the New Real with the same conviction as any established vocalist. The fact that there are a lot of non-metal parts compared to Lucassen’s other works helps, because he has a voice much more suited to the prog rock, folk and psychedelic styles than the metal, though he does do that pretty well all the same. There are some guest vocalists here, but neither of them feature very prominently. Wilmer Waarbroek provides backing vocals throughout while there are female vocals by Elvya Dulcimer in the Led Zeppelin cover Battle of Evermore. There’s a growl at the end of Parental Procreation Permit as well, which I have to presume is Arjen, since it doesn’t say different in the album booklet, although I didn’t really expect him to come out with this vocal style even for one line, but hey, stranger things have happened. I can’t fault Arjen’s vocal performance, hopefully after this he’ll get as much recognition as vocalist as he gets as a musician and composer.

And, as with his back catalogue, Lost in the New Real is an excellent testament to Lucassen’s abilities as a composer. I said the album was eclectic but the amount of styles thrown into the one record is just sensational, especially the in the title track, the amount of different moods in that one is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, even from Arjen. The tracks of the main album flow together flawlessly through the use of Rutger Hauer’s narration, making the first disc feel like one long song. That’s a feeling that is heightened through the way the title track reprises the ideas of both The New Real and Don’t Switch Me Off. I haven’t heard many albums where narration didn’t ultimately hinder the overall experience though. Into the Electric Castle was one of the exceptions. So, I’m please to say, is this.

Although the story presented is somewhat dark in nature – a man, Mr. L, died in the twenty-first century and was cryopreserved and revived in a distant future where he finds himself in a world that has changed a lot to the point that one cannot tell what is real and what is not – it is also somewhat comedic. Tracks like Where Pigs Fly can’t help but bring a smile to my face with narration/lyrics like “what quantum mindfuck is that?”, “E.T. dialled the wrong number”, “Alice was known as Vincent”, “Arnold never came back” and “Keith drank only juice” get me every time. You shouldn’t be surprised to recognise the references either, the song is full of them, all being alternate versions of actual reality. Elsewhere there are more humorous lyrics such as in Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin, which I’m convinced is a reference to PINK Floyd, The BEATLES, (in a) Deep PURPLE and Led ZEPPELIN. There’s also a song about the Internet piracy (E-Police) of the now, which manages to lighten the generally dark mood of the album, which is evident in the lyrics of tracks such as The New Real, Don’t Switch Me Off and Parental Procreation Permit.

The first disc of the album is absolutely sensational. I wouldn’t hesitate to give full marks to this part of the album, although it does have its clear highlights, such as The New Real, Where Pigs Fly, Pink Beatles In A Purple Zeppelin and Dr Slumber's Eternity Home. However there is a second disc to consider. Here we have tracks that are covers or didn’t fit into the main album but are still a part of the ‘New Real’. It’s safe to say that this disc isn’t as easy to get into as the first, although I’m tempted to put that down to the first disc being such a masterpiece that it’s difficult to get out of your head in order to give the second a proper chance. This was my experience in any case. After a few listens though I came to properly appreciate disc two. While I wouldn’t say it has quite the same spark as disc one, I miss Rutger Hauer’s narration (I never thought I’d say that about an album with narration) and the covers are (mostly) just that – covers, I think it does keep the same quality level. I think Arjen made some good choices for covers though and I wouldn’t say any of them are out of context with the theme, but the original compositions from both discs outshine them every time. Highlights from the second disc would be Our Imperfect Race, So Is There No God?, The Social Recluse and The Space Hotel. That’s all but one of Arjen’s originals, however I would also include the cover of Some Other Time as a highlight, especially vocally.

But honestly Lost in the New Real is worth buying for the first disc alone. Arjen has shown once again that he ranks among the best of the best and with yet another masterpiece under his belt it looks like there really is no stopping this guy. From Ayreon to Guilt Machine to Star One to a solo album, the quality level of his work over the last few years has never gone below exceptional. I don’t know where he’ll be going next, but precedent says it won’t matter – whether it’s a rock opera with Ayreon, a full out metal assault with Star One, or all over the place progressive work like Lost in the New Real, it will be one of the best albums of its year, as Lost in the New Real certainly is for 2012. Not only is it amazing, but I also think you’ll struggle to find a more versatile release this year. Get it now, especially if you’ve enjoyed Arjen’s previous albums, this one has everything, like all his other projects come full circle.

9.9/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

UMUR "The Power to Believe" is the 13th full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act King Crimson. The album was released through Sanctuary Records Group in March 2003. The lineup on this album features Adrian Belew on guitar, vocals and electronic percussion, Robert Fripp on guitar, Trey Gunn on Warr guitar and rubber bass and Pat Mastelotto on drums.

The music style on the album is dark and experimental progressive rock. For fans of King Crimson there are as such few surprises, but what made me happy about the music on "The Power to Believe", is the generally high quality level. Songs like "Level Five", "Eyes Wide Open" and "Elektrik" are excellent compositions. Lots of dark atmosphere in addition to the tight and as always innovative musicianship. The quality drops a bit after the really strong string of songs that open the album, but my attention never wanders and overall "The Power to Believe" comes off as a consistently high quality release.

If you ask me "The Power to Believe" is the best King Crimson album since "Discipline (1981)" and it´s highly recommendable to both fans and newcommers. If this turns out to be King Crimson´s last studio album it will make a great testimony. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Natural Causes" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Australian progressive metal act Alarum. The album was released through Willowtip Records in October 2011. It´s the band´s first album since "Eventuality... (2004)", so "Natural Causes" has been a long time coming. I guess all good come to those who wait, because "Natural Causes" has certainly been worth the long wait.

The band pretty much continue the progressive death/thrash metal style they played on "Eventuality... (2004)", but it´s obvious that they have grown as songwriters in the intermediate years. The music is influenced by acts like Cynic and Pestilence ("Spheres (1993)" era). Excellent fusion tinged drumming, jazzy sections, a very busy and audible bass and riffs played with great technical skill. The vocals are not growling, but frontman/bassist Mark Palfreyman rather sings in a harsh type thrashy singing style. He also sings clean vocals which remind me slightly of the flat and toneless vocals of Page Hamilton from Helmet. His vocal style took a bit of warming up to for me, but repeated listens have revealed that they suit the rest of the music well. The clean vocals provide the music with an alternative vibe, but it´s not the most dominant feature on the album.

The sound production is detailed and suits the music well. I could have wished for a bit more power and maybe a bit more "open" sound, but it´s not a big issue and I´m pretty sure this is exactly how the band want the album to sound, because "Eventuality... (2004)" had a somewhat similar sound. The sound has the effect on the music, that even the most harsh parts sound pleasant and almost calm. I guess sophisticated isn´t the worst term to use in this case.

"Natural Causes" has taken me a while to get into and I´d call it a grower. For me it´s been about accepting that the sound production isn´t based on power and aggression but rather on sophistication and detail, but once I´ve gotten past my initial not so positive reaction, "Natural Causes" has become quite an excellent listen. Alarum are certainly an act who has found their own sound while still progressing and I find that admirable. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Time Signature And the road goes on...

Genre: progressive metal/hard rock

Having released "Aurora Aborealis" in 2011, which I thought was a bit too minimaslitic in terms of everything but the lead guitar, Lars Eric Mattsson is now rereleasing 1998's "Obsession", which is a release that appeals much more to me - actually, its a very good album which definitely deserves some more exposure, so it's great that it gets rereleased.

Stylistically "Obsession" is perhaps best described as mildly progressive melodic metal with hard rock tendencies. Rather than just being a lead guitar and then something in the background, this album has much more of an actual band feel. The rhythm guitar is prominent and offers a lot of interesting riffs - some of which are more in the vein of hard rock and others are almost kind of power metallish, and - which is something I have a weakness for - there are even some galloping riffs every now and then. Featuring Björn Lodin's rough-edged voice, "Obsession" has a very 80s-90s hard rock edge to it, which I really like. It all comes together very well. Just check a track like 'Messenger' (which also features some Eastern elements) or the galloping prog power metal tracks 'Caught in Your Web' and 'Alive' or the highway-friendly 'Long Way Home'. 'Time and Again' has a nice funk rock feel to it, while a track like 'Sense and Obsession' is a heavy and melancholic ballad with a bluesy feel to it.

Now, Lars Eric Mattsson is of course quite the guitar guru, and, needless to say, this album is full of blazing, shredding and sweeping guitar solos with a neoclassical touch, many of which will leave many a guitar enthusiast drooling for more. But, and this is what I really like about it, his lead guitars never seem forced, and they fit neatly into the overall synergy of the album. In many ways, "Obsessions" reminds me of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, but with more of an edge to it (especially with the inclusion of keyboards and neoclassicisms). Coming from me, a fan of Rainbow and an admirer of Blackmore as a guitarist, this is meant as a huge compliment.

Remixed and remastered, the production is quite good. It still has that 80s-90s hard rock feel to it, but there is no noise and no fuzziness, and, overall, the sound is crisp and crystal clear.

Fans of melodic metal and hard rock with a progressive touch should hurry out and acquire "Obsessions", which is a massively melodic release documenting Mattsson's unique abilities as a guitarist and his solid songwriting skills. Guitar lovers everywhere, do yourselves a favor and check out this album.

Wilytank And here stands 'Quintessence', the last of the three Borknagar albums I got on that one day I mentioned in my previous two Borknagar reviews. But compared to the two other albums by them that I own, this one is the most distinct. It's an impressive archetype to what Borknagar would put out after this album.

It was during this album and 'The Archaic Course' that Øystein Brun would begin bringing musicians in to his project for the long run, all but discarding the supergroup lineup of well known Norwegian black metal musicians. ICS Vortex, who did vocals in 'The Archaic Course' previously, returns' but beyond him, there aren't any relatively well known players here. Grim, sadly, couldn't return to the drums due to his suicide in 1999. His replacement, Asgeir Mickelson, has proved his worth previously in Spiral Architect and plays the drums well in 'Quintessence'. Jens F. Ryland, previously playing second guitar on 'The Archaic Course', returns to reprise the role on this album. Ivar Bjornson is now gone, and he is replaced by Lars Nedland from the relatively unheard of duo group Solefald who would go on to be a permanent member of Borknagar.

Well, let's see what this new team can do. The folky, nostalgic, old world style of the first two albums are long gone. 'The Archaic Course' brought about a new style of goofy sounding progressive black metal that was definitely weaker than the first two. 'Quintessence' then works on the flaws of 'The Archaic Course' to make an end product that leans much closer to progressive metal than black metal. Vortex's clean vocals are used more often here, and he sounds great...just as long as his voice isn't being fucked with. If there's one negative thing to say about 'Quintessence', it's that layering the vocals can get somewhat annoying at times. One effect that's really irksome is on "Ruins of the Future" where he sounds like he's doing harsh vocals while his mouth is in a basin full of water and he's blowing bubbles. However, his voice sounds excellent clean and harsh on other likcs like "Colossus", "Icon Dreams", "Genesis Torn", and "Revolt" even if the vocals are layered at certain points.

Even the songs where Vortex's voice doesn't shine, the music is very well composed and makes up for it. The goofy sounding tone of 'The Archaic Course' has been peeled away, opting instead for a return to a more epic sounding tone like in the first two albums. Mind you, the nostalgic old world atmosphere did not get carried over. Instead, it seems that Brun and pals created a new epic atmosphere using the two electric guitars and more prominent use of the keyboards. To assign some describers to this atmosphere, I'd still say they bring up this old world that Brun loves so much; but now it seems like it's got some sort of mystical energy that Borknagar can wield using some sort of sorcery, especially evidenced on "Rivalry of Phantoms" where the lyrics talk about summoning winter, rivers, and the presence of time. Brun has been able to work this angle quite well. There's no acoustic guitar to be found on this album; but having Ryland on second guitar has allowed Brun to play some epic sounding leads, particularly on "Colossus". I do like Lars on keys more than Ivar, and the bigger role the keys play in Borknagar at this point in the band's musical transition is portrayed much better by Lars in 'Quintessence' than by Ivar in 'The Archaic Course'. The keys really shine on "Rivalry of Phantoms", "The Presence is Ominous", "Invincible", and "Genesis Torn".

It's not a perfect album, but 'Quintessence' has so many great things about it that the bad things have been greatly outweighed. Thus, I believe it deserves a top tier ranking. It's a very awesome progressive metal album with black metal influences, and it's Borknagar's second best album in my opinion. Unfortunately, Borknagar is coming close to the end of their golden era. They would still have 'Empiricism' yet to be released; but after that album, they would grow weaker as they would be unable to recreate the magic of these first few albums.

Warthur The technical, experimental metal subgenres have come a long way since Cynic's debut album, and the band may have been dormant for well over a decade before reforming, but if Traced In Air feels like it's lagging a little bit behind the cutting edge, it's only half a step behind. Once again, as on Focus, Cynic prove themselves to be masters of blending death metal riffage and masterful technical intricacies, and even if the sort of technical death metal they, Atheist, and Death pioneered back in the day isn't quite so shocking and avant-garde any more, it's still a hell of a lot of fun to listen to.