BURN THE SUN

There's so much that I like about this record, but there are a couple of things about it that keep me from giving it 4 stars.The first and most important are the David Coverdale-like vocals. I never was a fan of his singing or his commercial sounding music. That is hard for me to get past. The other is the lyrics, and while they may be easier to ignore they are in some cases really bad. Just read them, it will be obvious which songs i'm talking about. Having said all that, these guys create some pretty amazing music at times.

"Heal The Waters" contrasts the heavy and lighter sections (reserved vocals and synths) quite well. Good song. "Torn" opens with some atmosphere. I like it. It kicks into gear a minute in. Contrast continues. Some excellent bass in this one. Another good one. "Burn The Sun" opens with some good guitar before turning dark and heavier with vocals. Female spoken words 3 minutes in. Some fantastic guitar follows. "Resurrection" opens with some very good drumming. Cool song. I like the mellow sections. A wall of sound 5 minutes in. Nice.

"Absolute Zero" is my absolute favourite on the album. The vocals have a different tone to them. The drumming is so intricate like Bruford. It takes off 1 1/2 minutes in. Awesome bass ! Back to opening sounds as contrast continues. I just really like the style of music here which is so different from the rest of the album. "Just A Little" opens with what sounds like Spanish guitar melodies. I don't like the vocals at all or the song. Too poppy for my tastes, in fact it sounds like that guy who calls himself Seal. We do get some good electric guitar later but it's way too late to save this mess. "Waking Hour" features percussion and synths. It becomes more powerful after a minute. Contrast continues. "Noose" is quite heavy. Great guitar solo before 1 1/2 minutes. "Feed The Fire" is a good uptempo track with brutal lyrics though. "I Bleed" has the focus squarely on the vocals. Love the guitar solo after 2 1/2 minutes that goes on and on. "Missing You" is the 9 minute closer. I can't really get into this one either although it it's ok.

Good, but not even close to being great in my opinion.