COLOUR JOURNEY

Until recently I didn't even know mr Coenen had done solo projects even before he did his great jobs with Sun Caged. But I'm glad I've found this little treasure I'm going to review right now. This album is a confirmation of what I already knew: Marcel Coenen is a great prog metal guitarist, to me the best in The Netherlands at least.

What I noticed after a few listens was the various influences or at least resemblances with other bands that are to be found in the individual songs on this album. I'll mention them in the song by song review I will be doing this time.

1. Waiting sounds like a mix between a typical 80's hardrock song by Gary Moore and a usual Sun Caged song. The second resemblance of course caused by Coenen's guitar style. 3,5*.

2. Abstract Impact sounds much more like a Dream Theater song especially the rhythm is striking in this respect. 3,75*.

3. Patron Saint has some Psychotic Waltz influences with their original approach of rhythm changes within a song. They are present at the start and the end of this track. The vocal part is more the Sun Caged style. 3,5*.

4. La Bella Mira is a wonderful instrumental ballad reminding slightly of what hardrockband Dare was capable of in the nineties. 3,75*.

5. Traumatized to the Bone is much more like an Opeth song with growls and the rougher metal style. Less my personal taste but still another example of huge variation. The female vocals that also appear here remind me of Evergrey or (occasionally) Ayreon. 3*.

6. With Skill Factor we suddenly switch to fusion territory, with a metal edge that is. A bit like what Planet X and Where's the Nine are doing most of the time. Interesting. 3,75*.

7. That Moment is the first track that doesn't really remind me of another band, well maybe Platypus because of the ballad-like style. This time with vocals though. 3,25*.

8. The Shrink is another fusion-like track, this time with nice guitar effects and some crystal clear playing by Uris Ravskovsky. Very nice variegated instrumental track. 4*.

9. VDM is a heavy track with almost dissonant vocals. Not really my favorite one this though a great guitar solo around 3:00 saves it somewhat. 3,25*.

10. New Race is a fast track played like Dutch band Agharta did in their 1992 release Shades of Secrets. I wonder if this is a tribute by Coenen to his fellow countrymen... 3,75*.

11. Still Bleeding is the third ballad of the album or so it seems in the first minute. After this heavy guitars set in followed by nice female vocals by Joyce Dijkgraaf. One of those tunes that get stuck in your mind, especially the chorus by Joyce. 3,75*.

A pretty versatile album you may conclude after this. The average rating is only slightly above 3,5 but that's due to the songs on itself that are no more than (very) good compositions. But it's the arrangement and chosen concept that do the job here. And it's what I most admire about this release. It's obvious that Marcel Coenen didn't want to make a humdrum album. And therefore there's only one rating that goes along with it and it's the same rating as three members concluded before me: 4 stars. Excellent addition to any prog metal collection.