UTOPIA

First off this is a bit less experimental then In a Flesh Aquarium but for most would be considered Avant Garde and quite experimental, and it is. It uses numerous influences from many genres and sub-genres but a big difference between this cd and Flesh Aquarium is the use of Power Metal influence. It is much more apparent here then on other cds, sometimes it works sometimes it struggles. This cd uses alot of power metal because it is based on mythical lands from D&D and fantasy books, although not sure what exactly. The overall format of the cd is a little iffy with some transitions not quite working but still having a very nice flow to a lot of the songs.

But as for what really seems to put people off is usually they listen to Flesh Aquarium and want more then listen to this and become quite disappointed. Of course it is not the same masterpiece but it is still good and deserves a listen if you found Flesh Aquarium interesting at all. But a real problem arises when faced with the production quality and the problem comes from the fact that this is UneXpect. The quality is not necessarily the worst and would be fine for many genres but something as wild, crazy, and complex as this becomes quite an annoyance. Many of the instruments are also not mixed as well which leads to them blending into each other creating one mass of sound making it impossible to distinguish between instruments. But this is not constant throughout the cd just every so often.

So overall it is a pretty good cd and deserves a listen but if you have great zeal for hating Power Metal in its entirety then you might want to stay clear. But otherwise great listen.