ALL THAT I NEED TO SURVIVE

An intriguing collection of progressive metal songs from a band on the rise. Shades of Dream Theatre, with a little Rush and Opeth thrown in for good measure. The CD requires a couple of spins for the music to click, but once it does, it sticks! "Evolve Or Dissolve" offers the listener a brief, startlingly simple, respite from dense, relentless, driving beat of "Minding The Hourglass", "6", "The New Way Of Thinking", and "Hold On To Your Dreams" (a suite???). "The New Way Of Thinking", in particular, really rocks, especially live. As you begin to savor the simplicity of "Evolve Or Dissolve", the band hits you with the powerful "In The Here And Now". The last song on the CD, "Rainbands", seems to suggest a more progressive (and less metal?) direction for the band in the future. I think the double bass drum mix is a little too heavy, and the vocals could be mixed up a little, but overall, a solid first outing.

Look for great things from this band...

Rock On!

This is a superb progressive metal album. Very guitar driven and darkly melodic, it tends towards the heavier end of the genre. To my ear this album is musically reminiscent of the likes of Pelican and Isis, with production and technical flashes that are quite Rush-like.

There are no filler tracks on this album and The New Way Of Thinking is a blistering rocker without compare. Evolve Or Dissolve is positively sublime, features some very mellow piano which brought Dream Theater's Space-Dye Vest to mind and segues neatly into the pounding intro to In The Here And Now which deftly switches to a nice acoustic riff just when you think it's going to move up a gear.

An out of this world debut from a band who sound capable of very great things indeed.

As buckster099 says above "Rock On!"

Interesting but slightly flawed debut album by this US-based band.

The basic sound here is pretty much standard prog metal, heavy guitar riffs played in either riff patterns or drawn out chords; underscored by synths or piano; with relatively calm vocals for verses and more intense vocal performance in the chorus sections. However, the song structure and instrumental performances tends to be on the quirky side; often exploring disharmonies and fragmented rhythms. This gives the album a certain avant-garde atmosphere few other bands have.

Sadly, the songs as such aren't very strong, and the vocal performance is lacking a bit too often. Still, the band has talent and and a unique approach; and should be worth checking out for those who enjoy listening to a new, talented band that takes a slightly different approach to the prog metal genre.