THE WHIRLWIND

For some reason I've always had a bit of trouble with Transatlantic. I've listened to their two previous albums multiple times and I'm a huge fan of Mike Portnoy and Neal Morse in general, but the music just didn't stick with me. I remember enjoying them well enough but not much more. Fortunately, that has all changed with "The Whirlwind". This album feels more structured and tightly composed than "SMPTe" or "Bridge across Forever" and the individual songs work well together in telling a cohesive (if somewhat abstract) story. There's also much more variety in the songwriting. The classic prog rock/metal sound is prevalent throughout, but there are enough other sounds and styles blended in to keep it fresh.

"The Whirlwind" begins with a classical style overture that evloves into an energetic proggy opener. Afterwards, the tone takes on a more foreboding tone with "The Wind Blew Them All Away", then shifts to a jazzy feel in "On the Prowl". After the jarring intro to "A Man Can Feel", the next few songs take a softer approach, culminating with "Rose Colored Glasses", a characteristic Neal Morse ballad, with some nice guitar soloing added in.

"Evermore" kicks off the second half of the album with a very eclectic sound and some great instrumentals - one of the best tracks on the album. "Set Us Free" builds upon some of the themes used in the earlier songs, but introduces a slight building tension which grows into the next track. "Lay Down Your Life" is dark and heavy with some particularly impressive singing from Morse. "Pieces of Heaven" is a short but engaging instrumental interlude which leads into my personal favorite track, "Is It Really Happening". It begins with a beautiful piano flourish followed by some soft, plaintive vocals which are very reminiscent of Pink Floyd. The volume gradually increases as the piano returns to provide a beautiful harmonic counterpoint to the vocal melody. As the volume rises, the tempo joins in and the soloing starts. The intensity grows and grows, then just when you think it can't get any faster, they crank it up to 11 for a few more seconds and cap off the song with an incredibly satisfying climax. The final song, "Dancing With Eternal Glory" is actually my only real complaint with this album. Normally I love long, epic style tracks, but in this case I just feel like there's not enough material to justify the length, and the style is a bit too reminiscent of Neal Morse's solo albums. It feels somewhat out of place when compared to the tightness and originality of the other tracks.

All in all, despite the slight misstep at the end, "The Whirlwind" is still a great album and easily deserving of a spot in every prog fan's collection. 4.5 - rounded up to 5