THE HIDDEN STEP

I usually don't buy digital downloads, but when I was gifted an iTunes gift card, I "picked up" this and Flower Kings' Banks of Eden for $15 total. I wasn't really expecting much from this album... I mainly got it because it was cheap.

Well good thing I decided on this and not something else, because this is a fantastic album! I am very serious with this 5 star rating: I can honestly say the songs here are more memorable and fun than some of the more 'classic' Ozrics albums like Arborescence (still an awesome album) and Strangeitude. Pixel Dream is the masterpiece here, 6 minutes of pure bliss. Very experimental, spacey, etc. The opener, Holohedron is another standout, featuring some blistering guitar work. Tight Spin is interesting, featuring a more electronic sound. As the cover indicates, there is also some Eastern influence, especially on Ashlandi Bol and AraManu.

All in all, a great, trippy listen, very worthy of your money.

5/5