BEYOND THE SHROUDED HORIZON

A fine album. Not at all disappointing or a let down; however neither is it in anyway particularly special. There are some great moments, especially I found on the songs on the first half of the album. As we go deeper into it, the music becomes less interesting and appealing. I was very much looking forward to the 12 minute epic, having been very impressed with the music early on, but found that "Turn this Island Earth" was to my ears, the let down of the album. A song with varying sections none of which seem to relate to one another and none of which particularly give the song a cohesive kind of sound.

The album goes from rock, progressive rock, classical, world and new age (and subsequent combinations of each) and back again. The classical and new age parts in particular were lacklustre.

If the album had of continued in the way of the first 6 songs, I would have had a tough decision whether to award 4 or 5 stars, however, the second half and the final song didn't match to that.

I'd recommend the album to Hackett fans or someone looking for something a little bit different with some interesting world music-like rhythms and sounds incorporated into it.