LISTEN

United States seems to be a some kind of home of the progressive metal for most of the notable prog metal orchestras emerge from there - as does (or did) Digital Ruin too. Their career was short and they produced only two albums, but Oh Boy they're on the very top of the genre! The first album Listen is easily one of the geatest prog metal albums ever! I'm not really so keen to prog metal in general, but more to heavy, slow and DARK prog, and that's the point where my interest and Digital Ruin's music meet! For this is Heavy, depressing, crawling, emotional, spacey and highly original.

Of the most remarkable things in Listen is the unique singer (Matthew Pacheco) and vocals overall. Pacheco has got a high and clear voice, but yet his singing style is absolutely brilliant! It's sinister, depressing, creepy and frightening. Occationally it sounds like he has to do a lots of work to get a voice out of his mouth, like he'd been strangled at the same time. You should really hear that! Besides leading vocals, a lots of different vocals and methods are used to carry on the story - this is a concept album - narrations, speeches, samples and layered poly-vocals of Matthew and others. They are also used to deepening the story and the feeling of it - in which they've succeeded 100% - 'Listen' is extremely intensive musical journey, an experience one shouldn't miss.

The style of vocals fits in to this dark progressive metal fantastically. The theme of the album goes on with songs, narrations, interludes... the individual songs aren't really separable. The playing is as brilliant as everything on this album, it forces you to live it along with shiver in your spine, want it or not. The music is mostly heavy, slow, crawling and depressing, but very vivid and variative. The several vocal lines are the main leading instrument and thus the guitar solos, for example, are mostly absent and more like in a supportive role. These are still played with very impressive style and skill. The music, song structures, vocals, the whole thing is truly unique for metal making it a very progressive whole.

If there's something to hope for, it would be a more clear production, because sounds are bit chunky and dusty. Actually, it may only support the dark atmosphere... In the morning they will come... Brilliant!