IN SEARCH OF TRUTH

Some of the bands they thank in the liner notes that I like are PAIN OF SALVATION, KAMELOT and ZERO HOUR. This cd has such a compelling story line to it. The concept is about a man who thinks he is being abducted by aliens. It is rather dark as our subject's feelings are shown to us. You can imagine the fear, pain and frustration our subject would be enduring.

The record starts off with "The Masterplan" and a clip from the movie THE MATRIX that tells us how this man is carrying a tape recorder with him at all times because he hopes it might one day explain the loss of time, lack of sleep and the feeling of never being alone. All because he thinks he's always being watched. The music on this song and album are great.The drummer especially stands out for me as well as the dual lead guitars, and of course the vocalist is very strong. There are synths throughout this album and even a solo as they play a big role on this record. "Rulers Of The Mind" is one of the better tracks.The drums pound with vocals and background synths. It sounds really good. Guitars come back and some odd metered drumming. In light of the concept just read the titles of the songs and you can see how meaningful each song is.

The next song "Watching The Skies" features synths throughout including a solo 3 minutes in. Man this guy can sure drum ! A smoking guitar solo 5 minutes in. "State Of Paralysis" opens with piano and vocals. This song is ballad-like. He says over and over "They're coming, they're coming". Fear. "The Encounter" is nice and crunchy with more great drumming and a guitar solo 3 minutes in.The same line of thought from the previous song is continued. "They're coming !" "Mark Of The Triangle" has lots of tempo shifts and some fast keyboard playing with heavy guitar and drums.This one is all over the place. "Dark Waters" has some cool drumming and lots of riffs. A choir is heard as well as some great guitar. Amazing tune. "Different World's" has more synths and piano that speed up and slow down. A heavy soundscape later.The singer sounds like he's crying at one point, I don't know if i've ever heard this before. Very emotional. Read the lyrics. "Misled" is another highlight for me. They really let it rip with heavy riffs and drums with synths over the top. Nice.

I was very impressed and surprised at how good this album is. Highly recommended to Metal fans. 4.5 stars.