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This is a tough one for me to rate. If it was an all instrumental album i'd offer up 5 stars and it would sit with my favourite Metal cds, but it's not an instrumental record. As others have noted the growly vocals aren't really a positive and there's also processed vocals mixed in. It's so impressive otherwise though with Malone on bass and chapman stick and Reinert on the kit. I'm a big fan of both. And it's very cool having Gobel and Masvidal both playing lead guitar and synth guitar. And also there's that Jazz influence that is part of the equation. This is a very influencial record to say the least.

There are two tracks that are not affected by the growls, one is "Sentiment" which is so impressive with the bass, synth guitar and laid back passages.The vocals are pretty much spoken words here or are processed. Check out the guitar after 2 1/2 minutes. Great track ! The other is an instrumental called "Textures" where they contrast the heavy and lighter passages very well. I like the intricate guitar 1 1/2 minutes in and the chapman stick a minute later. Regardless of the growls this is a mind bending album folks.

A strong 4 stars from yours truly.