THE INCIDENT

The main album THE INCIDENT isn't bad by any means, but after the incredible hype surrounding it and my love for BLANK PLANET, this is a letdown. They seem to be regressing to what DEADWING represented, but with a bit more of a symphonic touch. The guitar sounds are more vibrant and less metal, and its the easiest difference I notice between this album and the last album.

The reviewers here seem pretty split on how the epic ''The Incident'' works; some say it is a full- fledged epic, others claim it's nothing more than fourteen disjoint songs. I say it's halfway in between. The opening theme in ''Occam's Razor'' is somewhat reprised in ''Degree Zero of Liberty''. I actually enjoy more of the shorter tunes like ''Your Unpleasant Family'', ''Yellow Windows'', ''Kneel and Disconnect'' and ''Circle of Manias'' (the only piece that sounds like it could fit on BLANK PLANET) for the atmospheres. ''I Drive the Hearse'' is my sentimental choice pick even if it's a tad cliche.

There are a few fits that I have. The title track is the black hole of the epic with a horrible drum- machine sounding beat and tacky trip hop checks. ''Drawing the Line'' has a nice piano intro, but the chorus brings out the weakest of Wilson's nasaly indie vocals. ''Time Flies'' has potential, but it lasts a tad too long and the name checking of albums at the beginning is cringeworthy at best. Still, ''The Incident'' epic is a pretty interesting piece of music that is on the bubble of four stars had one thing been taken away.

The extra EP at the end makes no sense. The combined time of the EP and the epic could fit on just one disc, but (it seems like) for continuity's sake, they are separate. If the main album has its charm, the EP is practically disposable. There isn't a track worth remembering off here. The presence of this bonus disc ruins my rating of THE INCIDENT since this is how it's packaged from the beginning.

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