AN ABSENCE OF EMPATHY

Absence Of Empathy, despite being tossed into the Art-Rock category, comes off as primarily a prog-metal album heavy on symphonic synth work and infused with some modern electronic effects and beats. Sebastian Bach takes over vocal duties for this release offering a stark contrast to the trained operatic style of LaBrie. Bach is dirty, raspy, violent, and full of rage making him perfect for the music here. He far exceeded my already high expectation for what he would do on the album. He shines no matter what the mood, but especially on more melodic numbers where his rich, deep vocals are given the limelight. If anyone like me heard Skid Row and thought "this guy is way too talented to be with these hacks" then you should be pleased to see this release.

The driving, crunching guitars and pounding drums are solid but nothing all too spectacular. You'll really be impressed by the way Pauly uses almost techno like beats and sound effects on top of the heavy guitars to achieve a great atmosphere. Songs were this touch is missing are the weakest and act like sandbags to the albums rating. If Pauly were to take the obvious genre influences he has and explore them more fully instead of building a song around a primary metal riff this would be a far superior album. Still should pleasently excite prog metal fans and those who don't mind a harder edge.