CONSORTIUM PROJECT III: TERRA INCOGNITA (THE UNDISCOVERED WORLD)

CONSORTIUM PROJECT is the musical fruit of the brain of a very,very talented and,in my opinion,unjustly underrated musician called IAN PARRY!He has an excellent voice and is known especially because his involvement in the excellent prog metal band ELEGY-now dismbanded,unfortunatelly!!He made some excellent albums with this Dutch combo- MANIFESTATION OF FEAR-is a little masterpiece-a concept album of a very high quality!Now,it seems that IAN has finally found his way with CONSORTIUN PROJECT-a very ambitious musical propject where Ian is pushing his creative limits to the prog metal terrotory with each album!It's difficult to say which CONSORTIUM PROJECT albums is the best,because all have a great level of technicity, and musicality-you get exactly what you expect and you are never dissapointed with any new CP album!That's the same situation with this third opus-a very enjoyable and likeble journey in IAN PARRY'S universe.TERRA INCOGNITA ssems to be a true all star project-just look at the list of the impressive musicians involved in the project and you'll realise that it's impossible to have a weak album with so many big names on it!Musically speaking -it reminds a little about ELEGY-but it's more bombastic-the keyboards have a very important role in this music!Excellent addition in the collection of any prog metal lover and the prove thet an excellent voice and a good composer can offer excellent music to the prog metal amateurs,without any compromise!4,5 STARS and congratulations!

Pure Magic.

I have no idea why this group/album is so dissapointingly underated. This is some of the best Progressive Power metal I have ever heard. All the musicians are extremely talented, making technical skill a highlight. Also Ian Parry's vocals are very good and his compositions (He writes most of the music and lyrics) are Highly complex. The lyrical concept is an ongoing one continued from the previous two albums.

No matter if the song is more progressive or more toward regular power metal, it is beautiful. This album has masterpieces in both realms. "Reductio Ad Absurdum" for example, is a fast paced power metal song. The ending of this one has awesome guitar solos switching back and forth from a minor backing riff to a major one. The effect sends chills down my spine. On the more progressive end, "Across the Seven Seas" is one with lots of piano and slower melodies. It is one of the more beautiful moments. Also "Beyond the Gateway of Legends" a lot of times sounds more like prog rock than metal.

All in all, this album rules. It has an atmosphere that not many other albums have and has no low points. Listen and revel in it's splendor.