LEMUR VOICE

"Divided" is the second full-length studio album by Dutch progressive metal act Lemur Voice. The album was released through Telstar-Sky in 1999. It´s the successor to "Insights" from 1996 and features the exact same quintet lineup who recorded the debut album. "Insights" would be Lemur Voice´s last release as they disbanded shortly after the release of the album. Some members formed Sun Caged and continued their music career in that band.

Stylistically Lemur Voice continue the progressive metal style of their debut album, and it´s still artists like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Enchant, which are valid references. Lemur Voice deliver a pretty dynamic take on the "classic" 90s progressive metal style. Their music features both tempo- and time-signature changes, heavy and melodic riffs, and lead guitar work, an omnipresence of keyboards/piano, a technically well playing rhythm section, and a skilled high pitched lead vocalist in Gregoor van der Loo.

There is a groove element to some sections, which doesn´t really fit the rest of the music that well, and unfortunately "Divided" is also a relatively poorly produced release. The sound production makes the instrumental part of the music sound distant, while the vocals are very high in the mix, which results in an album lacking power and the right dynamics to suit the dynamic nature of the music. While this is generally a much heavier release, the sound production reminds me slightly of the sound production on Enchant´s debut album "A Blueprint Of The World" (1995), which pretty much ruined that album too. A 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong, as despite some pretty serious production issues "Divided" is still a quality release somewhere beneath it all. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

"Insights" is the debut full-length studio album by Dutch progressive metal act Lemur Voice. The album was released through Magna Carta Records in 1996. Lemur Voice was formed in 1993 under the Aura monicker but soon changed their name to Lemur Voice.

The music on the album is "classic" 90s progressive metal highly influenced by Dream Theater. I hear a few nods towards 90s Fates Warning, and the more rock oriented sound of Enchant too, but it is Dream Theater I'm reminded of most often during the 8 track, 56:57 minutes long album.

The music is generally very keyboard heavy, but also features some very intricate rhythmic playing (tempo- and time signature changes are played with natural ease), heavy riffs and melodic solos, and a high pitched lead vocalist in Gregoor van der Loo. The music is very dynamic with both heavy rhytmically complex chugging sections, and more subtle piano/vocal sections, and longer instrumental sections. The band are very well playing and Gregoor van der Loo is a relatively skilled singer too. His vocal melodies aren't that memorable though, and even though the music on "Insights" is very melodic in nature, it actually features very few memorable hooks.

"Insights" is relatively well produced, but the longer you get into the album the less interesting the sound becomes. I'm not sure what it is, but it's like the production at times lacks a bit of punch and the whole thing comes off as a little too polished and nice.

Upon conclusion "Insights" is a hard album to rate fairly. On the surface it's easily a 4 star (80%) rating, because of the professionalism on display. The compositions, the musicianship, and the sound production are all features of a relatively high quality, but when you dig a bit deeper, the music is actually a bit more shallow than what initial impressions might reveal and the band also lack an original sound. Still it's a relatively strong progressive metal release and hardcore fans of the genre might find it more enjoyable than I do, so a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn't all wrong.

Four stars or five stars? I didn't want to jump the gun on this one too soon even though at one listen and a half I knew that Divided would be one to grow on. In a good way though of course.

I think you'll be convinced by the third song, All To Me. If you don't dig everything this band has to offer after hearing that song, then you probably won't like this album. As far as progressive metal goes, the style is quite within the norms and generally familiar spectrum of the genre.

I'll keep this review short, if you're a fan of Andromeda or Eumeria then you'll be able to walk into Lemur Voice's world and feel right at home. This record is a special one and deserves a listen!

By mid 90's the progressive metal scene was becoming larger and larger, a new prog sound was on its way.LEMUR VOICE were another band that tried to earn some fame and space in the prog metal map.In 1996 the band from the Netherlands managed to released their debut album entitled ''Insights''.

Actually this is a really strong debut.It wouldn't be an excess if I called them a DREAM THEATER clone.But the musicianship is very decent,the atmosphere of the album is really in prog fields and the songs are well arranged.Unfortunately,lacking in originality,the band plays in a similar style like DREAM THEATER as we know them through albums like ''Awake'' or ''Images and words''.A more personal style would raise the musical price of this album really high.I also recognize some influences from Dutch fellows ELEGY in the power metal moments of the band.The epic track of this work ''Alone'' contains also hints from SIEGES EVEN or SOUL CAGES in the atmospheric breaks,nice addition.The vocals of Gregoor Van Der Loo are also decent without being something spectacular.

Don't expect something grounbreaking or oringinal by buying this album.However the musicianship is excellent and searching for this CD worths the cost.If you are looking for progressive metal of the DREAM THEATER school of prog,this one fits well in your desires.Recommended!

It's a bit of an irony that, what ultimately killed the lemur was its voice.

I really don't know the reason behind the Dutch band's disappearance from the music world. But if the reason has anything to do with the band never getting a good record deal or never becoming famous at least within the progressive-metal community, I think the mediocre vocals of its singer have a lot to do with it.

The worst thing about the demise of LEMUR VOICE is that, actually, they were starting to become a truly competent and original prog-metal band. Here we had a group of musicians of the highest talent. An excellent drummer who was also the main lyrics writer for the outfit; a very skilled guitarist who was showing signs of extreme originality, with very unique riffs and ideas; a skilled bassist who played very interesting bass lines; a talented keyboardist who matched the abilities of the rest of the band. All of them were outstanding musicians, and that fact was starting to finally show in "Divided."

"Insights", the band's previous album, was interesting musically but failed to impress this listener with its lack of memorable songs and originality. LEMUR VOICE was very close to a DREAM THEATER clone in that record. But in "Divided", we can hear much more original music. While the influences are still there, there is a new, fresh sound that permeates the disc, with grunge and 70's-hard-rock overtones that add to the experience. The solos are better, the riffs and licks are way better. The songs have more interesting structures and everything seems to start to fall into place. The band manages to create songs that, though not immediately accessible, are much more memorable than some of the bland tracks in their debut. Just take a look at the excellent title-track or the very good "New Yanini" and you'll hear hints of greatness. The band even manages to pull out a decent (if a little awkward, especially in the jazz-styled chorus) Michael Jackson cover! (Admittedly, of one of the pop legend's best songs, Beat It).

But lemurs can't sing. At least in nature they usually can't. And nowhere can one find better evidence to support that statement than in this album. If in "Insights" the vocals were slightly annoying, here in "Divided" they border on the atrocious. Of course, there is a reason: in the debut, the music was weak, therefore the vocals were just another weak element; but here, with much better sounds, the awful vocals fall so far behind the music in terms of quality that the contrast is too high and the image gets much more distorted. Van Der Loo's voice is too high, but that's not the biggest problem. It's too energy- less, too dead. It would seem that the singer was really bored recording this album because he really appears to be singing with absolute no conviction, no strength, no desire to reach anything but the moment when he could walk out of the studio.

And that's what kills this album in the end. The rating would have been higher if the vocals matched the quality of the music (I would go so far as to say that with an excellent singer this record could've gotten a 5 from me). But with what we have, "Divided" is just a tad above its predecessor, and it gets a 3.

This band doesn't exist anymore. And when one hears the vocalist singing, one stops wondering why...

Dutch metal band Lemur Voice is one of the few with a progressive nature. At least I wanted to check out one of their releases as true Dutch progger and of course fan of progressive metal in general. I picked out this one because it contained quite a lot of tracks, a few really long too. One of the significant features of Lemur Voice is the guy responsible for the "Lemur Voices" as they put it in the booklet: Gregoor van der Loo. A man with a striking voice, quite high in fact and I wonder if he would be in place in the heavy metal scene as a vocalist. Probably a useless question because he and his band are in the progressive metal world and that's simply not the same. The style of playing is metal-like but not of the toughest sort. When they play rough occasionally it's not for an entire song, just a part of it. It produces a differentiated image for this band and in fact I like that. This aspect comes to full expression in their almost funny cover of Beat it (Michael Jackson). When I realized they were really covering this song I could hardly believe it. On itself I'm not a fan of covers and neither of Michael Jackson but I must admit they did a very nice job here, giving the song a whole new appearance. In the second half of the song they even play it jazzy and it sounds very much ok too. Can you believe it ? But of course it's not the very highlight of the album, that wouldn't be a good sign.

Best tracks to me are Childhood facade and When the cradle cries both really well executed. Besides the last track there are no poor or even moderate songs on this album. So that's a big plus and leaves us with over 70 minutes of enjoyment listening to this album. This conclusion is good enough for 4 stars I believe.

I've read the same comment so many times when it comes to speak about various prog- metal bands: "oh, this band is just a Dream Theater clone", "another one of the endless herd of DT clones", and as much as I tried, I never could find that one album that truly made me believe the same experiment that generated Dolly the Sheep was repeated with the New York band.

That is, of course, until I heard the voice of a lemur, disguised as a prog-metal band.

I have a serious problem with Lemur Voice: it sounds too much like DT, like AWAKE-era DT, to be precise. The cloning accusations really are on target this time, and I've begun some research to find out how someone got ahold of DT's ADN and used it to create this group.

The band Lemur Voice is no more, it has ceased to exist long ago. So there would be no point in me worrying about future releases. But, in case you're interested in buying this cd, I'll say a few words about the music.

This is really a copy/paste exercise. The musicians are very capable, and can surely play their instruments with skill and virtuosity. The problem is that the music itself is not that interesting. As I said before, it's very much reminiscent of AWAKE, but without the inspiration, the melodies, the energy, and, less than everything, without the originality of that legendary release. Even though the songs aren't that bad, there's nothing new to listen to here. It also lacks punch; it's like the musicians are playing trying to emulate their favorite band but without even leaving his heart on the floor for that, without breaking a sweat, they seem like they were playing by inertia. And the singer? Well, he's just not good. His voice sounds like if Fates Warning's Ray Alder had suddenly lost 10 years and also 10 pints of blood, as the delivery is bland, monotonous, bleak, lineal. Completely fuel-less.

About the songs, all sound about the same. The first track is the better one with vocals, and for sure the second one (the instrumental "Akasha Chronicles") is the best in the album. Actually, if they had recorded a purely instrumental album with more tracks like that one, it would have been a pleasant experience and worthy of maybe 3 or 4 stars. But, as it is, this tracks barely saves the album from 1 star status.

If you want prog-metal that has a little of Dream Theater but also a lot of originallity, try Redemption, try Vanden Plas.

Stay away from the Lemur.

Recommended for: Ultra-hardcore fans of DT that want ALL of their music to sound almost exactly like DT. Fans of prog-metal that don't mind the lack of originality.

Not recommended for: Those looking for a novel prog-metal experience; those looking for an entertaining album; but most of all...

...fans of DT. You should know there's only one DT. As there should be only ONE of each great band.

From the beginning i might say this is among the best prog metal albums. It's a shame is the last one for Lemur Voice, but with Divided they are here to stay forever in prog metal history. Very high technical skills, they know how to use the instruments, and the result is a 4 star album for me. The forte tracks are Solilocide and Universal roots. Similar bands, Shadow Gallery, Empty Tremor. Highly recommended for prog metal fans.

With this sophomore album, sadly their last one, Dutch band Lemur Voice delivered their ultimate testimony for the world of prog metal. "Divided" reveals an enhanced power and an increased sophistication in comparison to their also excellent debut "Insights". It is clear that the four instrumentalists have achieved a tighter cohessiveness regarding the usual display of energy demanded by prog metal standards. It is also noticeable how well has the rhythm duo matured as a server of foundation for the other musicians: their augmented swing and groove (some of it provided by the stick instead of the bass) definitely help the guitar riffs and solos to shine in a special light, and the same goes for the keyboard textures, adronments and phrases polishedly delivered by Franck Faber. Lead vocalist Gregoor van der Loo has also shown improvement, mastering perfectly the various moods that the lyrics and melodies demand in unison with the musical motifs. Eerie cosmic synth layers and Arabic chanting serve the intro of 'Solilocide' before the whole band erupts wildly and fiercely. This amazing opener is followed by the even rougher 'Universal Roots', which somewhat follows in the footsteps of "Awake"-era Dream Theater but with no cloning. 'All of Me' brings more of the same, albeit bearing a more patent melodic vibe. 'Childhood facade' is the longest track in the album, one of the hghlights indeed. It comprises complex structures, fluid mood shifts and well-ordained tempo changes. The melancholy sections of this track portray a genuine reflective spirit, with van der Loo going really emotional for it. 'Lethe's Bow' is the other very long track, equalling 'Childhood Facade' in terms of power and complexity, yet focusing more on strength and less on melody. Van de Wouw and Tromp shine with a special luminiscence here, creating a solid nucleus for the overall track's electrifying majesty. This is another peak, and so is the title track, as well. The 'Divided' song incarnates better than other tracks the aura of enhanced sophistication that I mentioned earlier in this review. The inclusion of strong jazz-rock flavors in this track makes the band lean somewhat closer to a version of Gordian Knot- meets-classic Fates Warning. 'Parvedian Trust' is yet another metallic gem, this time with an added touch of industrial-inspired adornments: it's 5 minute long and its concise genius makes me wish it had been longer. 'When the Cradle Lies' is a stylish semi-ballad that may remind the listener of Vanden Plas to a ceratin degree. The instrumental 'New Yanini' (Van der Loo makes some humming in places) finds the band exploring their melodic side deeper, in a context more proper of ethnic-pop rock than prog metal. It surely adds variaety to the album, also giving room to Faber to expand on his clever use of textures and ambiences. You can see a 'Beat It' in the tracklist: yes, it is a cover of that Michale Jackson hit. It's nice and fun, combining poppish hard rock (in the pars more faithful to the original) and jazz in a playful manner. The closer is a Tromp solo on stick, 'Sticks in Space', which takes us mentally to the Tony Levin thing. It's a very captivating number, but it would have served better as an interlude in the middle of the album's repertoire than as a closure, really, but all in all, it is a very nice number. General conclusion: Lemur Voice said farewell with absolute dignity with this excellent opus "Divided" - a valuable item for any good prog metal collection.

A good album and a great listen. Lemur Voice is a band with a talent, and what they lack in emotion and power they replace with talent and complexity. The music is good but not great, and does have its moment to make it a great album that's pretty good. They have some great songs such as Intuition, Alaskan Chronicles, More of Nothing, Celestrial Haze. It's a curious listen and enjoyable in some places. It's a good addition to your collection, but not really essential. Give a listen if you want to, but it's something I don't obsess over.