ANIMA

In a sea of Dream Theater clones, I was more than pleasantly refreshed when I first listened to Spheric Universe Experience's Anima. Unlike most bands trying to fill this niche, Spheric Universe Experience avoids nearly all of the common pitfalls. Their songwriting is actually engaging and intriguing to listen to, far from the bland flatness that so often plagues this genre. The album feels cohesive, rather than a collection of randomly thrown-together bits and pieces. And of course, their instrumental playing is top-notch. Anima isn't a perfect album, however. Sometimes the music feels less intense than it should, and despite all of the things that make it great, I honestly doubt it has too many listens in it. Despite all of this, Anima is quite an enjoyable album and certainly amongst the better of the albums to come out of this over-saturated genre.