VISIONS

This is my third album review, but my first 5 star review. I came across this album before listening to their debut album "Aquarius" and it grew on me....heavily. I tend to gravitate to heavy prog such as Porcupine Tree and Tool, but I spend quite a bit of time with 70's prog also such as King Crimson, Yes, and Pink Floyd. I began listening to the album and it hit on EVERYTHING I like about music. Period. I've been listening to music for a long time, played in a lot of bands and appreciated music in general, but I must say that I was not prepared for this. I remember when Metallica's "Master of Puppets" came out as a teenager and how much I thought that it was an epiphany for me. Twenty-five years later, it has happened again. Yes, I'm drinking their Kool-Aid, and it's good.

This is an album (yes, an album) that is to be appreciated in it's entirety. Picking tracks and listening to intros won't give any indication as to what this gem holds. It flows perfectly from beginning to end. I won't review individual songs because that's not important here. The ALBUM as a whole needs to be digested. I've listened to it countless times, then I put something else in for a change of pace, then I end up with Visions again, and again. There are no virtuoso performances, but as a whole, it's epic. It starts with a fantastic intro, follows with great songs, then it takes a melodic breather at song 7 before taking you on a trip in the final long and sweeping song.

I honestly couldn't even name all the songs. Highlights for me are at about 3 minutes into song number 3 with the 8 bit montage followed by some metal ear candy. Shapeshifter has a great guitar section in the last half...a very simple rhythm but put in context of the song, and with loud speakers it sends chills up my spine.

That's how I know that this album does it for me...the goosebumps and chills....

If this album were a woman, I would marry it. This album has dethroned my top rated album (Yes - Close To The Edge) and is my new standard for greatness. There are only a couple albums that deserve 5 stars from me: Yes - Close to the Edge, Pink Floyd - DSOTM, Metallica - Master of Puppets (I know, not prog).....add Haken - Visions to this list.