HEAVEN AND BEYOND

Heaven and Beyond is an attempt to bridge the hard rock guitar hero approach of Hyperdrive with the more symphonic rock stylings of earlier albums with a dash of Queen-like baroque pomposity thrown in. Looks like a formula for a predictable heavy prog-lite approach, and it kind of is, but not as bad as it sounds. The playing is very professional and the bass is booming as always. I like the flow of the album - it starts very appealing with a flashy instrumental intro to Unbroken, a song that is followed by a shorter rocker before going into a slower darker number, which is relieved by an even shorter and poppier rocker. It may not be as catchy a work as previous albums, but what we come to expect from Knight Area is evenness and that is delivered.