ON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

On A Dark and Stormy Night has some incredible tracks. The members shine on this one. I was first "awakened" by Whispers and Screams and then by Welcome to the Freakroom. I WAS HOOKED. Overture starts things off with an epic gesture. I have always felt the 1st track of a cd was the start or end of a cd. In this case its just the beginning.Somehow It came across that this track is somehow ties to Whispers and Screams but i cant put my finger on it.Daddy's Gone is a terrific track, gotta love a good ballad in prog.Song of children missing "pop".just great lyrics on this track. This is one that I should have heard when i was 5, would have made me think a lot different.contains a great guitar section that makes me wanna spread my wings and just fly away.Whosit, Whatsit And Which follows and im not real sure what to say about this track. it has some Gabriel type lyrics in it.love the organ play..makes the track rock at the end. Make Way For The Big Show is next with a piano starting things out.then the organ come along and perks up the track to a winding trail of musical wonder.Tesseract follows and i assume the best place in the order of the cd. its a roadtrip for the senses. ears and mind.an instrumental that deserves a set of head phones to hear in its own adventure.Uriel begins as a peaceful one.over looking a meadow with flowers and juts good ole peace and quiet. this gives one time to reflect on what has been played before. vocals are sharp and not once allows one to go of into a world of slumber.althio the end of the track semingly builds into the next as it gets a bit "heavier". Camazotz is a tad on the "scary" side..i imagine creatures of some kind running about while i listen to this.then all of a sudden a protector is there to watch over you. then it hits you again with strong guitar work like a bomb has gone off. Ixchel follows..its the perfect calm before the storm on the cd..the sun before the thunder. calming and peaceful with angel like voices leads us to the last track which brings the whole thing together. the first 3 mins or so are full of anarchy and bravado,then settles down to just vocals and pulls the track into yet another direction. the ending calms the whole song down into a finale that fits well with the entire cd. now i have done a few "reviews" i am not a writer or anything close. just check the typos..but i know that this cd will make at minimum top 10 for 2012 and deservedly so. i also have zero musical training or any idea what it takes to be a musician other then determination hardwork and the hope of us fans will like the end result. i find concept cds are very difficult to listen to as a whole. i was not aware that this was a book "converted" into music until after i had written this. but this cd is a very good case for others to follow. had i known it was a book the whole cd may have made more sense to me. but overall i enjoyed this cd very much and will give this 4.5 stars. missing the other half due to my ignorance alone....i suggest all fans of symphonic prog to order this and allow the band to enjoy the they so deserve!!! I have listend to this 3 more times since original review..i nnow give this 5 stars...