VEMOD

Unlike any of those other guys on this site who are quick to find comparisons to their precious King Crimson, I am not. I understand that after listening to the album, King Crimson makes for a good comparison if you're trying to desribe the music to someone, but I've always been frustrated with the countless listeners who pigeonhole bands that take direct influence from the major 70s bands. They can't seem to accept the fact that progressive music is better than it's ever been. I'll save more of my thoughts on the subject for other albums...

So, when I listened to this album for the first time, I did not immediately say "King Crimson!!!" in my head or out loud, because this is not King Crimson and they deserve to be treated like a band that is not King Crimson, in other words, their own entity. What I hear is a very interesting combination of heavy, heavy rock music (not metal, but it is dark and heavy) with mellotron and cello. The vocals are melodic but they somtimes seem a bit distant and/or empty on this particular album. They ebb and flow between that heavy style which also incorporates disonant riffs in the vein of Robert Fripp. Oh man, even I can't escape the comparison here! Truthfully, you can hear the Fripp in those riffs almost right away, but that's the only time during the album I pointed a comparison out, I swear. But now that I'm at it, it does sound a bit like Wetton-era King Crimson.

The compositions are pretty solid, but they can be a bit redundant. The production is pretty poor as well. This is certainly the band's most derivative album, and it is pretty derivative (musically speaking), but I trust that your demand for quality supercedes your demand for originality so you can enjoy highlights like "Karelia" and "Where Solitude Remains."

Of course I would rather have a band that plays great music that is original, but if the influences are present but not obstructive, it's A-OK with me. Unfortunately the album is a bit shaky: it is too inconsistent and probably one song too long.

Good news from the future! The band started correcting these issues as soon as their next album.