REVOLUTIONS

Once I get pass the buttock-clenching awfulness of the vocals that begins this album (never, fellow 'Prog' fans, play this to anyone sceptical about the value of the genre,,,,it will only confirm their suspicions) and once I overcome my annoyance at the lead vocalist's frequent adoption of a fake American accent which is just grating, and once I ignore the lyrical doggerel , I can begin to find this album almost tolerable. It does contain some good instrumental passages, the sort of epic musical development that I generally enjoy and few wild guitar solos that are fairly impressive. But getting to this point of enjoyment takes some effort and the album's weaknesses are too intrusive for its better moments to overcome. I suspect, however, that my irritation with this album is a consequence of my listening, in the last few weeks, to some very strong Progressive Rock. I remember listening to this album a couple of years ago when I found the music very powerful. But now it just sounds a little too predictable and prepared to venture only into the 'safe' territories of an AOR style. Still, I might come back to it in another two years to find out if my current opinion still holds.