THE INCIDENT

To all the reviewers who say this lacks any kind of musical themes, I say "what?". Beginning with the first intro track and into the second track "The Blind House" there are musical themes throughout the disc. There is a continuity I feel all through this dark and magnificent album. Many chord patterns, key structures and whatnot are masterfully woven together and brought out at just the right time. Not so much in the second disc, however, which is why it may have been separated. I think that this is their best effort to date. While In Absentia and FOABP are regarded highly, and I do enjoy them, I feel that they are less mature than this album and as such are lacking compared to The Incident. Highlights for me are the title track "The Incident" which has one of the best musical changes in the history of music (this occurs well into the song and could be missed) and Octane Twisted. With this album I feel that they have crossed over into a more legendary status. Compared to The Incident, I believe their earlier albums are more "forced" whereas this one seems so much more natural. I think this album will be looked back upon as their best effort so far. This album fills my need for good music and feeds my metal appreciation as well.

This is a dark and heavy album, and a great addition to any collection. I give it a 4.5 and I'll rate it a 4. Less than 10 albums get an actual 5 from me, and this isn't one of them, but It's in my top 50 anyway.