THE PERFECT ELEMENT - PART 1

IMO, it is probably the best POS release so far. If you would just forget about the loudly vocals of the opening "Used", this album starts quite promisingly. Melodies are not alien "Ashes" but I'm lacking some more creative instrumental parts.

When I listen to "Morning On Earth", the very good "Arena" is not far away (mostly thanks to the vocals which are quite Rob Snowden oriented). This is the most melodic song of the whole: almost mellowish!

It is quite the opposite of "Idioglossia" which starts as a total metal song (extremely "Dream Theater" oriented). It combines the heaviest sounds with subtle and melodic vocal parts. But this is a consistency for the genre and the combination works pretty good. This is one of the best numbers out of this album. Johan Hallgren finally woke up and delivered some great (but short) lead guitar instants.

Another very good song is "Her Voices". It starts as a true rock ballad but evolves into a fantastic and wild hard-rock atmosphere. The extremely well crafted and performed final part is just a jewel. Unfortunately, it won't be repeated. The next two songs are pretty much forgettable, but for different reasons.

While "Dedication" is just a filler ballad, "King Of Loss" is too much metal oriented even if there are some fine vocal harmonies and a wonderful guitar solo towards the end.

But the catchy "Reconciliation" does it work on me: a mix of prog and metal. I guess that it is only the essence of the genre.The problem that I have with this album is that it is either too metal or too mellow at times.

"Song For The Innocent" also mixes both elements, but it only shines during the emotional guitar solo. This is renewed during the short instrumental "Falling".

The long closing and title song is the most progressive one: it combines crystal clear acoustic guitar, fine background violins, moving vocals and delicate piano (that's for the prog side which prevailed). Some heavy riffs and a strong structure are just there to remind us that POS is a special band. A highlight.

This is a good album which could have been shorter: "Morning On Earth" and "Dedication" could have been easily avoided. Three stars.