JEREMIAS - FORESHADOW OF FORGOTTEN REALMS

This is an album that is going to have two quite different responses. There are those who are going to rave about it (I was approached by someone who told me that I had to listen to this as these guys were the new Haken!), and there are others that will feel that in many ways it is just too clever for its' own good. Guess which camp I fall into? This is an album that I have actually enjoyed less the more I have played it, and I am sure that this is because instead of seeing this rock opera as an incredible piece of art I instead see it as an opportunity missed. That the three singers are wonderful vocalists, that the songs are incredibly structured and well played is never in doubt, but there are just too many forms and styles of music being brought in that I just don't like.

There are times when this crosses into funk and disco, and that annoying music you used to get in the cinema when they were about to play the adverts. It can come across as really cheesy 70's pap, but there are other times when the jaw just hits the table when listening to the speed and interplay between all those involved. These guys can really blast it out, in perfect unison, and when they soar then this is just stunning. But, and it is a fairly big but, they just bring in all these other elements that for me really drop the album instead of lifting it. Highly arranged and incredibly well played, this should be a 5* review, but it isn't. I realise that I am probably in a minority of one, but then that's nothing unusual. I would love to rate this more highly as there is so much promise within it, but there are also huge chunks where the Vegas lounge is just too much for me.