DIVIDED

"Divided" is the second full-length studio album by Dutch progressive metal act Lemur Voice. The album was released through Telstar-Sky in 1999. It´s the successor to "Insights" from 1996 and features the exact same quintet lineup who recorded the debut album. "Insights" would be Lemur Voice´s last release as they disbanded shortly after the release of the album. Some members formed Sun Caged and continued their music career in that band.

Stylistically Lemur Voice continue the progressive metal style of their debut album, and it´s still artists like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Enchant, which are valid references. Lemur Voice deliver a pretty dynamic take on the "classic" 90s progressive metal style. Their music features both tempo- and time-signature changes, heavy and melodic riffs, and lead guitar work, an omnipresence of keyboards/piano, a technically well playing rhythm section, and a skilled high pitched lead vocalist in Gregoor van der Loo.

There is a groove element to some sections, which doesn´t really fit the rest of the music that well, and unfortunately "Divided" is also a relatively poorly produced release. The sound production makes the instrumental part of the music sound distant, while the vocals are very high in the mix, which results in an album lacking power and the right dynamics to suit the dynamic nature of the music. While this is generally a much heavier release, the sound production reminds me slightly of the sound production on Enchant´s debut album "A Blueprint Of The World" (1995), which pretty much ruined that album too. A 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong, as despite some pretty serious production issues "Divided" is still a quality release somewhere beneath it all. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).