THE FRUIT FALLEN

Edensong were formed by two students at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut in 2002, drummer Matt Cozin, and singer/guitarist James Schoen, soon to be joined by guitarist Ben Wigler.With the help of some additional musicians they performed the ambitious Rock Opera ''Beyond Eden'' the next year.After graduating from Wesleyan University, Schoen along with a semi-refreshed line-up focused on writing and recording material for Edensong's official debut, but tensions among the members led to the band's demise in 2006.Left alone, Schoen decided to add the final touches of an almost finished album, completing the mix and mastering of it with the help of engineer Bob Katz.''The Fruit Fallen'' was its title and it was eventually released independently in 2008.

Edensong drew influences from Classic 70's Prog as well as modern Heavy Prog and even Progressive Metal to offer an album full of changing atmospheres and soundscapes.Flutes play a dominant role in Edensong's music, reasonably recalling JETHRO TULL, while the violins and organ parts resemble to KANSAS' progressive years.These vintage inspirations are combined with plenty of acoustic parts and followed by more intense and heavier moments, featuring a really powerful rhythm section and very sharp guitars.The style contains a heavy dose of symphonic-inclined Progressive Rock with balanced Heavy Prog/Metal elements and atmospheric Acoustic Music with a folky flavor.However the material lacks consistency, despite having a very rich and irritating approach.The vocal parts are of an acquired taste, lacking an attractive color, while the blend of the styles sounds far from tight and rather abstract.Additionally the album suffers from the abscence of melodies tightly linked with its symphonic nature, while most of the tracks remain forgettable after several listenings.Even the last track, entitled ''The Reunion'', is considered as a 22-min. epic, but the truth is that these are two separate tracks split with a very long pause of silence, in a move that actually makes no sense.Ironically the music on ''The Reunion'' makes sense, being the two strongest pieces of ''The Fruit Fallen'', sounding tight, well-arranged with nice shifting moods, good interplays and a bit more memorable themes.

These kind of albums tend to be the hugest dissapointment.All the right components are here (varied instrumentation, balanced vocal and instrumental textures, technical sufficiency), but the final result sounds as a package of unrelated pieces...2.5 stars.