INK

In the beginnings of prog everybody tried to outdo each other. Then, a backlash set in. Now, it's renaissance of excess. A debut album already a conceptual double disk affair loaded with epics. Don't be fooled by the opening songs into thinking this is some sort of Dreamtheater/Rhapsody hybrid - pompous cinematic metal - with less professional vocals. It'll get progressively weirder. Yes, the basic sound is prog metal, but also thrown in are psychedelia, classic hard rock, folk, sweet female vocals, western (!), death metal, neo-prog, impressive instrumental workouts, techno, reggae, circus music, kitsch gangster Tarantino send-up and even punk and rap! Songs are very unpredictable. What I like about a crop of younger bands now is that they don't hide their love of classic rock behind layers of metal (like Dreamtheater). If they want to pay homage to the classics, they do it directly. Gotta be the most eclectic stuff I've heard in a while. But what works in a smaller format, can be rather messy in 20-minute epics. Songwriting-wise, they are step behind such like-minded eclecticists like Haken. For all my love of eclectic metal, if I give them five stars, it'll probably encourage them to write a four disk set next time including the sound of the vocalist flossing. Just kidding. A fun ride, and quite impressive in places, too.