RAISING THE STONES

CITIZEN CAIN is basically a duo at this point with some guest guitar on one track. So we mostly hear chunky bass, vocals and drums throughout with keyboards coming in fairly regularly as well. At almost 71 minutes I must say i'm ready to fire this out the window part way through track 5 (haha). It's funny because I enjoy this record at first but it wears on me. I've always liked singers who sound like Peter Gabriel but for me this album puts too much focus on the vocals as there are a ton of lyrics. Plus it's a concept album which doesn't help either.

"(Hell's Greedy Children) Last Days Of Cain" opens like an epic movie and it lasts for 2 1/2 minutes. Vocals before 3 1/2 minutes. Nice bass after 4 minutes. Flute and keys 7 1/2 minutes in as the bass continues to throb. "Bad Karma (Monsters And Men)" opens with bass and drums that rumble during this 2 1/2 minute intro. It settles then the vocals join in. The sound does get fuller but the focus is on the vocals. It settles again 5 1/2 minutes in with bass, piano and flute before building again. "First Gate-Open Yet Closed" opens with lots of atmosphere and percussion-like sounds. Vocals after a minute with lots of powerful atmosphere.That changes when the music kicks in before 2 minutes. Great sound here with chunky bass lines.

"Corcyra-The Suppliants" opens with atmosphere then the vocals come in after a minute. "Dreaming Makes The World" is an almost 12 minute track and this is where I grow tired of their sound. I do like the huge bass early. There's even some vibes before 6 1/2 minutes. "The Last Supper" is a song that I just can't get into at all. "Ghost's Of Jericho" is really more of the same although there is some piano here. "Black Rain" is led by drums and bass early. The tempo picks up after 4 minutes with violin ? Vocals and mellotron follow. "Silently Seeking Euridice" opens with lots of atmospheric synths. It settles with vocals before 2 1/2 minutes. It turns lively a minute later before settling back 5 1/2 minutes in. It picks up again after 10 minutes with flute, then it kicks into another gear with keys late.

This is a far cry from their debut which I like very much. For me this is like running a marathon.