THE PARALLAX II - FUTURE SEQUENCE

When a friend recommended this band to me, I could not get into their music. After listening to their more ambitious work such as Colors, and the Great Misdirect, I found myself "getting over" the vocals and really appreciating their musical diversity and talent. After listening to Parallax: The Hypersleep Dialogues, I honestly did not see this band surpassing their previous work or simply getting better. Then I got my copy of this album....

Holy S**T!!

I could not believe my ear holes. With excellent musical composition and more (welcomed) clean singing, it seems like these guys got even better at working together to make their music while still adding a touch of humor. I would have to say this is now my favorite album by these guys and one of my favorite albums of all time. For those who are turned off by the vocals, I encourage you to give a more patient listen to BTBAM's music as they might expand your musical preferences the way they did for me. As for the reviewers at Progarchives, I would hope they would give a less biased review of BTBAM's albums (and at least give ONE review for this album) instead of complaining about Giles' vocals(not as much to complain about on this album). Even if you don't like their music, you cannot deny the diversity and technical talent that BTBAM offers....

I try to listen to whole album from start to finish but if I had to pick my favorite songs, I would say "Lay Your Ghosts to Rest", "Telos", and "Melting City"

By the way, I avidly use this website to find new music and have listened to many albums posted yet I have only felt the need to write a review on two albums. This album is one of the two that I feel deserved a review.

I don't say this about too many bands (none really), but I have been saying the same thing about BTBAM since Alaska was released....They get better with every album they put out. And Alaska was a very very good album. Then Colors blew that out of the water, then The Great Misdirect was like an even more mind blowing version of Colors. Then the EP came out and showed that they were just getting started. And now this!! All I can say is, I look forward to their future in music. It seems pretty bright from where I'm standing. Get this, listen to this, love this....its amazing!! It's my firm belief that Between the Buried and Me is hailing in the new amazing age of progressive music.

Let me tell you that I am not a particular fan or at least follower of bands of extreme metal where the voice is growling and nothing can be understood, at least at first hearing by a non- speaker of English or the language in which the growl is delivered. My first approach to a band using this and I liked it was OPETH, and they are still a favourite to me. Then I have heard others bands but they do not convince me at all. Between the Buried and Me was one of those bands. When I heard for the first time Between the Buried and Me was in the album Colors, and the moment I heard the voice was like: STOP! Few years later, I tried again in a different kind of environment, and hell, was I wrong! Incredible! Then I missed the next album, and suddenly I knew about THE PARALLAX II: FUTURE SEQUENCE and I was like: Let's give it a try! I'm glad I did, one of the best albums I've ever heard of this kind. Separating Tommy Rogers singing, the first thing to concentrate on is the music, and wow, it is extremely well produced, arranged, powerful, fast, intelligent, logical, complex ... then add the voice, and Tommy Rogers has that combination of alternative voice with death metal, and together with music, it flows consistently. I like COLORS ... I adore THE PARALLAX II.

The best metal album ever made.

Yeah, I said it.

The best metal album ever made (although Metallica's S&M is a close second, but that's a live disc so I'm not sure that counts).

Now, I'm not an idiot. I understand attaching words like "best" or "greatest" to anything is going to piss people off, because, frankly, these words are subjective at best, opinionated. So before I continue, these are the descriptors I use to determine the "best" out of an album:

It has to have an original sound. It has to display a wide variety of emotions. It needs to be able to tell some kind of story or tale. If the songs are connected or intertwined, they need to transition smoothly. The sound quality needs to be otherworldly, superb and top-notch. There needs to be a delicate but mastered balance of each facet of the band's signature sound, regardless of style or genre. It has to provide something new on each listen (or manage to be a timeless sound). And most importantly, there needs to be sections that instantly catch ones ear so that the novelty never wears off, something you'd put on repeat over and over again.

This album encompasses all these criteria in stunning and excellent fashion. Granted, it's not perfect (nothing is), but in terms of the zenith of just how far one can take a flexible genre like metal and still keep it within the bounds of accessibility, nothing beats "Future Sequence". I look at reviews of this band here, and 95% of them state in the beginning how most of them don't care much for progressive metalcore or the like, and yet BTBAM is a rare exception they can listen to.

That's probably the most impressive feat of all. Explore the very edge of the boundaries that are physically possible, and yet still appeal to non-metal enthusiasts? Even 10 years ago that would've seemed too good to be true.

The intro, "Goodbye To Everything", is your typical BTBAM soft, pretty intro. Before singer Tommy Giles Rogers went sing crazy on "Coma Elliptic", this is was his most adventurous in terms of his singing exploits, and even here it's a remarkable improvement over his frankly lifeless singing on "Colors". It doesn't take long for that to come and go and the catchy tune, "Astral Body", to burst into life and develop around a catchy 8-note guitar lick that signals a build in tension, a sign that "Baby, you're in for a real treat if you hang in there for the next hour or so."

Right away, I can tell there's a more melodic focus, despite a good abundance of screaming, which doesn't bother me much. Rogers' screaming is entirely unique, but it doesn't destroy my ears, which is good. The focus on staying heavy is there, but exploring more elaborate melodies seems to be the key, with drummer Blake Richardson throwing in some elaborate polyrhythms without having to go too mental. At least, before the blastbeats come in the second half of the song. Still, the choruses sound thoroughly composed, spectacles and fantastic arriving points in themselves, as if each one is designed to be the finale of a great epic saga or story, and "Astral Body" only presents the first of many to come.

"Lay Your Ghosts To Rest" is a bit longer than "Astral Body", almost twice as long (and honestly, I'm sure the lyrics are gripping, I care more about the music itself). Apart from that, it's a typical BTBAM double-minute gobstopper. The heavy theme only lasts for about a minute and a half before we're introduced to a sort waltzy circus kind of groove, before we're kicked out and get front row seats to another Rogers chorus of wonder and mystique. The clean and heavy sections still kick in abruptly back and forth, like you're a soccer ball and you're just getting kicked from one side of the pitch to another, but the transitions still don't feel as jarring as on "Colors", and nor does it feel as chaotic either. Controlled is more like it this time around.

"Ghosts" definitely feels like the most hectic and angry of the lot, apart from the almost pseudo-surf rock ditties and circus rock breakdown. I guess it's a good think the circus breakdown is immediately followed by a relaxing verse from Rogers' gentle croon and a nice guitar lick over a nice, soft waltz groove. And then we're back out into the light into a few extra heavy fills before the chorus returns once again and fades out into the atmospheric "Autumn", concluding the section of the album. In short, it's another typically constructed BTBAM song. Explores the diverse range of emotions, transitions are wonderfully executed, but it doesn't feel abrupt or jarring, but it does feel like a story being aurally told. Whatever the story actually is, I don't know, and honestly, I don't quite care. It's just brilliant.

"Extremophile Elite" is perhaps one of my favorite BTBAM tracks of all time, mostly from the fact the song's theme is Middle-Eastern based, and I'm a sucker for exotic scales and chords of the Middle-Eastern variety. The chorus is quite catchy too, the b-theme roughly 3 minutes is tasty, and about 2 minutes from the end, you'll notice a sort of c-theme underneath a sitar sample as Rogers' is stuttering through his "Walking into a certain state of walking..." verse, which, for fans of BTBAM is the same verse and rhythmic progression from "Specular Reflection", off their "Hyperspace Dialogues" 3-track ep. Same verse, key and progression, but on this album it has a more exotic flair to it, obviously. It's gripping and engaging throughout, and it just pumps me up everytime I listen to it. Maybe it's just because I'm weird, but something about this particular song is just so special, it's one of my most listened to tracks ever on my computer.

I also love the transition into "Parallax", the fade into almost distant nothing, and the subtle intro of the piano in "The Black Box", right before the band kicks back into high gear and foreshadows a future of beatdowns in "Telos". Even though Telos isn't my favorite, there are some juicy phases, such as that almost psuedo-Samba groove break2 minutes in signaled by the whistle. The heavy stuff doesn't last long til at 3:15, the soft groove begins, and the sexy time starts making its magic. This section lasts for most of the remainder of the song, and the buildup to the big chorus is phenomenal, and when Rogers sings "Rebirth, reborn", it's quite possible one of the most surreal aural moments ever to grace my ears. It's triumphant, it's terrifying, and it doesn't last long before the quick heavy them from the beginning retakes the lead and throws me for a loop, and onslaught that lasts the remaining 2:30 of the song.

"Bloom" is quite unusual though. Apart from "The Ecoptic Stroll" off Coma Elliptic, it's one of Roger's most unusual singing performances. Not that that's a bad thing, and I kinda like the surf rock theme the band churns out as well. The transition into "Melting City" is kinda weird, as I personally think the two tracks should have been merged to one, but that's not the worst thing in the world. I still have problems counting along with the chorus as the band throws in an extra beat constantly. It's just such an awkward rhythmic pattern. The addition of the flute in the middle though is hot, and the second, slower chorus is another triumpahnt, bombastic moment that's just indescribable and unique. The whole track just sends shivers down my spine half the time. Try doing that with a Yes album.

"Silent Flight Parliament" heralds the beginning of the end, much like "White Walls" had the same effect on "Colors". It's a great track, not one of my absolute favorites, but it's a track worthy of a finale, a finale that doesn't really come until an abrupt cut off leads into a reprise of "Goodbye To Everything". In a perfect world, I would've made the reprise as bombastic as possible rather fading away into nothing. Nevertheless, it's still a fantastic cap to a great album, an album that not only maintains a consistency through transitions and fluidity, but each big epic sounds the part of a stand-alone track as well, a feat rarely accomplished by even the most seasoned prog veterans.

VERDICT: It's glorious. It's ridiculous, sublime and then ridiculous again. It's loud, it's bombastic, it's epic and it's sobering. It makes me very happy. And yet it makes me very sad. Because this album, to me, feels like the culmination of a great career for this band, and even though I do like "Coma Elliptic", it's an entirely different beast from this, and I worry that the band put so much effort into this album that, frankly, I don't think we'll ever come across an album this complete, this thorough, this detailed. It's a unicorn, this album. Never again will something like this grace our ears. Cherish it. Embrace it. Leave it something nice in your will.

I might even go so far as to compare it to Beethoven's 9th. Once ol' Ludwig incorporated Turkish Janissary percussion and dropped a choir (A CHOIR) in the 4th movement singing "Joy To The World", I could just imagine all the other Romantic composers at the time going "NOPENOPENOPENOPE". It was the virtual equivalent to Beethoven dropping the mic and walking off stage (or going deaf and dropping dead, whichever works), and it would take roughly 60 years before Brahms came around to make the symphonic genre even remotely relevant again.

And this album seems to do the same. BTBAM have always created a sound unique and true to them, but as far as progressive tech metal goes, not even Dream Theater (my most beloved band) could top this. This is the pinnacle, and because of that, I fear that BTBAM won't ever be the same again. (please no, even if you can't recreate this album, please try. plz)

And on top of all that, it's accessible. It's catchy. It's heavy. It's quirky. It has so many elements that anyone can get into, and it's all blended into an accessible cocktail that's so well balanced and put together, they make it look SO EASY. It's staggering.

Honestly, whatever you listen to, give this album a shot. All BTBAM albums take multiple full listens to really grasp, but this particular album shouldn't take you long at all before you get it. And even if you don't like it at all, which I completely understand (BTBAM isn't for everyone, even though that's just simply blasphemous), you have to at least respect it for what it is, a colossus of epic proportions. If you don't, then I'm sorry, you have no soul.

The best album ever made. Period.

*dons flame retardant suit*

This album has been a real treat to listen to and it has remained on my iPhone ever since I brought it home a couple of months ago. I had heard of the band Between the Buried and Me before and at some point I decided to give them a listen. I don't remember why 'The Parallax II: Future Sequence' became the album I checked out on YouTube, but when I gave a quick ear to some random parts and heard the aggressive and technical playing along with the shouted vocals, I figured this was an album to keep for the right time, for when I was ready for it. A year or so later, I found my music preferences leaning towards the extreme metal persuasion, and before long the album finally joined my collection.

I was prepared for the fast and highly technical playing. I was prepared for the heaviness and the brutal vocals. I did not in any way expect the remarkable progressive side of the band. Clean vocals, beautiful melodies, acoustic guitar, synthesizers, and rapidly changing music; it was all such a treat. I almost considered that the album would be better without the emphasis on the aggressive side, but then the progressive side would probably not shine so brightly.

I can't speak for any other albums by Between the Buried and Me, not just yet anyway, but this album keeps pulling at my attention. There's so much happening in the songs here, so much creativity and all of it coming at ultra-high paces so that the music keeps changing like a person with hyperactive disorder on speed. If you're not paying attention, you'll miss something. The music is mainly divided between the two main approaches of technical metal and progressive rock but there are so many little things that get added that crop up unexpectedly and make the listening experience that much more entertaining.

The opening track, 'Goodbye to Everything' features strummed acoustic guitar and clean, melodic vocals. It sounds like a modern British prog band might have come up with this. However, 'Astral Body' begins to sound more like something from the Devin Townsend Project, especially once the screamo vocals come in at 1:53. The guitars and drums play some wonderfully complex music like Dream Theater. There's some clean guitar with a style that makes me think of System of a Down for some reason, even though I'm not so familiar with their music. 'Lay Your Ghosts to Rest' is ten minutes long and largely speedy, technical, heavy music with shouted vocals. Catch how from 5:43 to 5:45 the jaunty but brief guitar riff sounds like it's coming through a transistor radio. After over six minutes of pummeling aggression, the song slows down to a waltz with clean guitar and vocals. 'Extremophile Elite' is another long progressive/aggressive technical track which at 4:23 abruptly changes to an orchestral bit that sounds like a score from a Tim Burton movie before going back to the heavy technical music at 4:53. 'Autumn', 'Parallax', and 'The Black Box' are all very short tracks that are transitional pieces between the longer tracks.

'Telos', 'Bloom' and 'Melting City' form a wonderful suit of three segued tracks that speedily cover such an array of aggressive music but also includes a laid back part that reminds me of Pure Reason Revolution in 'Telos' and an rushed technical/progressive take on 50's twelve-bar blues based rock and roll in 'Bloom'. 'Melting City' concludes with a wonderful bass-led instrumental section that slowly builds to a climax when the vocals return. These three tracks make up such an amazing display of this bands talent. 'Silent Flight Parliament' is the longest track at over 15 minutes and continues to be packed full of head-spinning technical, progressive metal/rock. The album wraps up with 'Goodbye to Everything Reprise', a track with a very suitable slow closeout.

You'll need to be one to handle the speedy, technical and aggressive side of the album before you can appreciate and enjoy what 'The Parallax II: Future Sequence' has to offer. But if you can take that side of the band, then this album will continue to reward after several listens. Prepare yourself by listening to Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, Haken, and maybe just a little uneXpect.

Shout from the top of your lungs, "we're not just crappy metalcore", BTBAM...: 8/10

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME's metalcore tendencies fuse with a hyperactive technical death metal to create dynamic tracks that stray far from generic metal on THE PARALLAX II. I was truly apprehensive about giving them a shot because their annoying fan base kept idolizing them and "metalcore" scared me. But, as Wicket puts it on his review, BTBAM has a particular way of making non-metalcore fans enjoy their music, regardless of the listener's distaste for the genre. Mostly because they just take certain characteristics of it; their music is rooted on metalcore, but it also offers several other influences that, all fused together, stray far from the sameness, fake emotionality or immaturity the genre can connote.

Over an hour long, its dynamism and metamorphic rhythms, patterns, arrangements, and melodies - albeit not really different among themselves - was able to keep me actively hooked and particularly entertained. Granted I had little idea of what was going on, mostly due to the confusing lyrics or disorientating, boastful wall of textures, but it genuinely a good experience. Assuming I had been tortured by a "musical crisis" (I was having a hard time genuinely enjoying music) and they took me out of it, it's safe for me to assume that their output is pretty entertaining.

The band clearly opted to separate their avant-garde (due to lack of better term) highly technical extreme metal expression on the longer tracks, which are pretty obviously the limelight of the album. Highly eclectic, sonically intense and offering a vast array of sounds, there's no sleepy moments while listening to them, mostly because if you ever felt lightheaded the powerful lead guitars or the melodic rhythm ones would blast you back to your place, awake and well. The shorter tracks are mostly there for conceptual purposes, functioning as a tool of cohesion. They offer profound lyrics, perfect as a tool of immersion on the context BTBAM constructs. Musically, though, they fall short, I don't feel the band works well with softer music.

All's good so far, but I do have a critic. I felt the concept was poorly expressed. The lyrics are convoluted and cryptical, I barely could understand the general idea they were trying to propose. In my opinion, concepts, at least at its very fundamental level, should be easily identifiable on the first spin. Naturally, there's no issue with details being harder to spot, but the problem is that both the very structure PARALLAX II is based upon, as well its details, remained shady to me even after I finished the album.

THE PARALLAX II should be listened in its entirety at once. I can't imagine trying to give the songs a shot on shuffle, or individually, I feel as if its magic and pompously noisy capacities wouldn't be enjoyed to the max if done so. And, pretty obviously, more than one listen is imperative to really absorb it (although roughly all prog albums are like that so I'm sure you're aware of this condition). Nonetheless, I highly recommend giving it a shot. At once, or not, as you will, really, but just don't let the "this is metalcore" or "this is too long" prejudices fool you. BTBAM is pretty dope.

The Parallax II finds Between the Buried and Me plotting a strikingly fresh course after spending their previous few releases engaging in a controlled flip of their sound; whereas Colors had been a metalcore album infused with prog sensibilities, the Future Sequence finds the group putting prog metal first and foremost, with metalcore motifs and textures being merely part of a staggeringly diverse portfolio of tools and techniques available to them. Metalcore purists may feel somewhat left behind, but if you liked the prog elements on Colors you'll be well-served here. Conversely, if in the end you found that Colors wasn't quite to your tastes due to the residual metalcore influence, you may find that The Parallax II is more your speed.

We have another ambitious release by Between the Buried and me.

The first song has vocals like if it were an Ayreon symphonic track, accentuated by organ in the background, yet another new territory for the band. After this first candy comes the meat, "Astral body" with a heavy dose of brutality. "Lay Your Ghosts to Rest" is incredible versatile, from the poppy melodic part to long growls. The middle section has a march with death-metal vocals but Hammond in the background, then comes a waltz-like clean section. "Extremophile Elite" reminds me of Haken in the clean parts. At one moment, the band utilizes frenetic death metal speed to magically turn into progressive rock realm. Orientally infused guitar can be heard in the latter part of the track. The short "The black box" is the strongest similarity to Haken up to now. "Bloom" is extremely eclectic and complex with soloing by each member, constant changes. "Silent Flight Parliament" is the climax on that album; it has various highs and downs in terms of intensity. I like the combination is growling and clean vocals at the same time, they are really powerful on entire album, rhough.

Overall, this is yet another well executed album by the band that deserves to be stored in the upper echelon of their discography.

A masterpiece of progressive metal. No doubt!

Songs like Lay Your Ghosts To Rest showcase Between The Buried And Me's technical side. Extremophile Elite showcases Between The Buried And Me exploring middle-east sounding music near the end. Telos is a brutally heavy and dynamic track that will blow you off your seat. Melting City has amazing melodic sections and guitar solos. Finally, Silent Flight Parliament is an epic track that closes the album amazingly, my favorite from this work!

Musicality is flawless, as you would expect from Between The Buried And Me, and the vocals are amazing by how they go from soft and beautiful to dark and heavy, it adds dynamic to the album.

Five Stars!

- Review #1 -

I decided that my first review on this site would be for my favorite progressive metal album since Dream Theater's Metropolis Pt. II, an album that I will probably review very soon.

I must say that this album requires quite an extravagant taste. It's not necessarily too melodic or light to be considered progressive rock, or too smashing and brutal to be considered Death or Black Metal. It's in a point in between, combing properties and characteristics of these genres instead. And I must say the last time I saw a band manage such perfect balance, it was with Opeth's Ghost Reveries.

This album's main technique is to saturate you with thousands of time signatures and technical passages before you can even process them. This can be tedious for those who don't enjoy musicians showing off, but for those that do, it's heaven on earth. Between The Buried And Me's capability of merging these complex sections that stay for most of the album with growls and clean vocals is also something worth respecting, so big props to Tommy Rogers. Musicality is truly on point and at certain times, close to unmatched, with all five musicians delivering their notes with perfect synchrony in a truly delightful way.

There's five main juggernauts that pretty much sum up what this album's all about: Lay Your Ghosts To Rest, Extremophile Elite, Telos, Melting City and Silent Flight Parliament There's three minor tracks that work as smaller juggernauts, they still pack a punch: Astral Body, The Black Box and Bloom There's two SFX interludes that work as a break from the juggernauts: Autumn and Parallax Finally, the opener and the closer, the latter one being a reprise, work together as an amazing way to tie-up things together.

However, with all honesty, I recommend that your first impression to this monster of a work is through a full listen. Most Between The Buried And Me albums work that way, in fact. The flow present between tracks is truly admirable.

I easily give this album a five star rating. I truly have always referred to it as a masterpiece.

Between The Buried And Me went off the grid!!! Parallax II is such an intense and packed album that your head kinda hurts after listening it, if it wasn't because of the short interludes this album would be a nightmare to listen to! Anyways, there's some fat tracks in this album and those are the ones I'm going to talk about. Lay Your Ghosts To Rest is a very fast paced song with a pompous chorus and pretty comical instrumental sections, very fun to listen to (although the part where Tommy starts screaming over and over again makes my ears hurt). Extremophile Elite is that one track in every prog metal album that has middle-east influence, it has a pretty weird chorus. Telos is probably the best track of the album, very balanced, very cool, very awesome! The middle section is without a doubt the standout of the album. Melting City is a very repetitive track with a syncopated chorus and a chill middle section. Silent Flight Parliament is the epic of the album, it's pretty predictable and you can guess from a thousand miles that it's going to have an epic ending, still an amazing track whatsoever. Really like this record, but I recommend to listen it from beginning to end. Five Stars for me!

The sequel to their EP, The Parallax. This is one of the most popular albums the band has released, heck maybe more so than Colors. A concept album brimming with reality swapping and interplanetary epics. Story lovers always love a good sci-fi story. This album is gonna be quite the adventure due to its long winded length. So this may be a rather interesting review.

The album begins with a short prelude called Goodbye To Everything. Now unlike most stories this starts at the end. I will not spoil what it means but it certainly points to a more bittersweet finale with the lyrics. The song itself is an acoustic ballad with some sound effects sprinkled in. Tommy's vocals are on point as ever. This is a solid song to start the album off with.

Next song is Astral Body. Now this is where the story of the EP left off. It follows Prospect 2 breaking down mentally after realizing his planet is gone from existence so he starts to analyze and dissect himself. This band loves to create a mental conflict with the characters they make in their music and this is definitely one of the more up close examples we got. The EP had a sense of technicality, lost in trying to find this new sound to tie the Parallax stories around musically, so with this release it's a bit interesting to see them going to that complex approach to playing while also showing off the band's prog rock motif. The changes in tempo and pitch adds a nicely made layer to make this song feel super rich yet never too much. Despite being a very heavy metal band, Between The Buried and Me never had songs that feel too intense. They strike a nice balance between being fulfilling while leaving the listener wanting more.

Next up is Lay Your Ghosts To Rest. In this song Prospect 2 wakes up from his nightmare, however the planet is still gone, so he decides to go to another planet, the one he was sent the mission to go to, embarking on his journey. For the music side, it has that very articulated and refined Prog Metal I love dearly, while also showcasing a bit more flavor. It has a sort of space rock feel to it. The production definitely feels similar to an Ozric Tentacles or a Hawkwind album to me. The tiny bit of reverb does make this feel a true space adventure through the stars. I do like how it sort of has a waltz style near the end. The band does love experimentation with new styles so this fits pretty well. In all and all this is a great song, however I think it has a tiny bit of filler in some areas. I love my longer songs but this song still works if they cut a tiny bit down and make it like 7 to 9 minutes in length. I feel it's a bit overzealous in what it's trying to do musically. That aside, it's still great.

After that it's Autumn. This is an interlude. To be honest I do not care for it, it is just there. It is just some spacey sound effects and nothing more, but it does have a tiny bit of story. It's basically Prospect 2's mind at the current moment, in lost confusion, so it has some elements to it. Other than that, it exists.

The next song is Extremophile Elite. Now we get into the Prospect 1 side of the story as he reflects on his visions of Prospect 2. He wakes up though finding robots building something around him. The sound of metal clanking and building torments him so he buries his head in the dirt on this supposedly new planet. Prospect 2 soon makes his way down to the planet and finds a corpse in the dirt. This was so happened to be another nightmare but it does show the two Prospects are related in a visionary sense. This song continues the complex Prog Metal nature the band has, but I do notice a little something else. Up until the 2010s, Prog Metal was still progressive but it never truly captured the wacky and fun nature some other genres captured in the Prog scene. That was until something sparked. The most prominent contributor of this whole new wave of progressive metal was Haken. They showcased that Prog Metal can be more than just serious in terms of the music, it can be fun and silly too. Between The Buried and Me definitely had some great experimentation with the genre in the past but here you can definitely hear some Haken influence. The weird use of keyboards and a general sense of bounciness can be found all throughout this song and it gives it a more catchy flavor to it. I like this a lot, I just love a little silliness in my Prog.

Next up is Parallax, another interlude. This time I actually like this compared to Autumn. Yeah it's short but it is a bit more musical and the spoken aspect of it really changes things up a bit to give this a more interesting twist on the band's formula. It follows Prospect 1 and 2 as they realize their true goal and that is to become one again. Two seemingly reality bending characters trying to find a way to become whole again is such a cool story line to be honest.

After that is The Black Box. This time, instead of the prospects singing the song, we get another perspective, which is a being called Night Owl, a god who created everything and sees and hears all. This is the main threat of the story as they try to stop Prospect 2 from reuniting with himself and becoming one again. This is a shorter song but we get less of a heavy metal sentimentality through it and more of a ballad-like feel, but obviously in a villainous approach as it builds up into an epic crescendo. I do wish this was longer since the build up almost felt unearned quite frankly, but it does leave a good introduction to the main villain of this album.

Coming off of it we have Telos. It shows Prospect 2 using his abilities to contact Prospect 1 in an attempt to try and get them on his plan to start things anew. Prospect 1 seems interested in this plan. Prospect 2 also finds a letter from his dead wife who couldn't bear being alone, so she killed herself but to send a message to Prospect 2 on how bad the mission has become. With these feelings, Prospect 2's end goal is to now destroy earth, which fears Prospect 1, who now has an end goal to become a normal person again and not go through his other's plans for destruction of humanity. Now this is a good song, a really good song. It is super virtuous and is filled to the brim with excellent changes in sound and style that it truly creates an epic scaling song. Musically this song is as good as ever, but the story could use a little work. Prospect 2's goals feel very cookie cutter like. The whole destroying humanity due to a lost thing has been a sort of basic and bland trope even in the year of 2012. It doesn't feel completely absolute, but Prospect 1 definitely is a lot more interesting, I just wish they utilized him a lot more in the story. Also they kinda ditched Night Owl in the plot in this song which felt weird. I kinda wanted a big epic battle between a godlike being and an actual god to take place, but I guess that didn't happen for this song. Some weird choices. The song is good, but the story feels weird now.

Next up is Bloom. Prospect 1 now floats in a body of water and soon gets dragged down by a bunch of jellyfish who hypnotizes and experiments on him. After they found out his purpose they let him go where he drifts onto the faithful island that showed up in the first song of The Parallax EP, showing a flashback. You can definitely hear the weird Prog vibes in this song. It's super wobbly and funky sounding but still distinctly from the same cloth as many other songs this band has made. It is just a wacky song and I love that a lot. Just a fun song all around, despite the dark story.

Melting City is up next. Another perspective is introduced and that is a government investigator named Black Mask. He is sent to steal the letter Prospect 2 read in Telos. Black Mask decides to keep it which soon eats at him so he goes back to where he stole it, only finding ash. He leaves the note behind after reading it and runs off for Prospect 2 to find. This and Bloom are kinda in the same form, this being longer though. It is a flashback song that shows a chain of events that'll lead to the epic of The Parallax. This also has the same vibe as Bloom too, a more wacky sounding song, though this doesn't fit as well since the story and subject matter is much grimer. I do love this song, but it does feel a tad out of place and unneeded in the long run. It is a good addition and a little more story elements doesn't hurt, but it does feel filler for the sake of filler.

Next up is Silent Flight Parliament. Now this is a song worth talking about, another big epic from the band. It has such a good melody throughout it with a good amount of technical skill to really make this song feel epic in nature. It has a consistent yet ever changing vibe and style in the music that really sets a nice run for this album. Of course an epic wouldn't be complete without a solid ending. The repeating lines of 'Jet propulsion disengaged, dancing towards our future, a future of nothing, a future towards nothing' is such an awesome finale line that just makes this experience feel all the more worth it. The story of this song is Prospect 2 realizing that Night Owl and Prospect 1 oppose his plans, so he decides to put his plan to action. He kidnaps Prospect 1 and forces him to witness his plan of moving the earth into the sun. Now this is a good plot, but here is the weird part, and that is Prospect 1 accepting this fate. I am saying he had an advantage against his other self, but come on, they should've fought. Like the ending would be so much better if they had one last battle, the ideals of moving forward and destruction, life and death battling one last time. It's kind of a cop out ending to be honest, but it doesn't sour the song too much, but it does feel a little wrong. That aside it's still a magnificent piece for this album.

Lastly is the reprisal of Goodbye To Everything. So now the two Prospects accept their fates and earth and then are destroyed by the sun. This whole thing wraps the adventure up, but it does lead some questions like how did Prospect 2 find a way to kidnap Prospect 1 if they are in separate realities, and also why did Night Owl not try to stop them as he wanted to before in The Black Box. The story feels janky at times, but still a nice concept album for this band's career.

I know I am in the minority here but I do not find this album to be their best work, but that does not stop it from being a very enjoyable musical venture. It is certainly a recommendation for people who want a space bound story while also wanting some awesome heavy music, just note the story is a little all over the place.

OK?. I'm a level 1 on this, having heard a few tracks. The problem is that I couldn't stand what I heard. But I see absolutely raving reviews about this album on Prog Archives. So, I will try to keep an open mind.

Track 1 - Goodbye to Everything

OK, so actually, off to a good start. Gently strummed clean electric guitar with excellent harmony vocals start this short introductory track. Some tinkling glockenspiel adds color to the sound. A bit of synth joins in as we go.

Track 2 - Astral Body

Nice guitar riffs and accents from the band?so far, so good. I like the riff that begins around 1:15. Then the growling-screaming vocals come along and ruin the great playing. Really, the playing is fantastic! OK, he can actually sing around 3:00. But then he goes back to the horrid screaming. Why do so many modern metal bands feel they have to use this type of sound?

Track 3 - Lay Your Ghosts to Rest

Even more screaming to start this one. Extremely fast tempo. But at 1:30 he actually sings and the groove changes. I like this part. Piano at 2:25 for a few seconds, then the heaviness kicks in again, but without the screaming. But never fear, it comes back! This is ridiculous after the 4-minute mark. (It's a 10-minute song) ...Things ease off at 6:45 A waltz time at a moderate tempo, clean guitar & vocals. Actually, it reminds me of the Janis Joplin version of Summertime. But at 8:19 screaming over an otherwise cool riff. Real singing does return though. So, it ends pretty well.

Track 4 - Autumn

A brief track at 1:18. Spacy type sounds fade in. Sounds like we are on a spaceship.

Track 5 - Extremophile Elite

A pretty cool synth riff kicks us off here. The band comes in and it reminds me of Dream Theater. Until around 50 seconds in when he opens his mouth. They make pills for this?sigh. Real singing starts around 2:00, but it doesn't last. I like the riff at around 3:15. Then at 4:25, Xylophones! OK?. Some real singing at around 5:00 mixed with growling. Things ease off at 7:10 into a 5-4 time that's pretty cool. Wonderful guitar playing. If dude would just shut up this would be cool. Sitar around 8:40, nice. But then the ending is more screaming.

Track 6 - Parallax

Clean guitars and spoken word. An atmospheric interlude of 1:15

Track 7 - The Black Box

Another short one at 2:11. Piano starts it off and clean vocals join in. He can sing when he wants to. The intensity increases about halfway through, but not screamy.

Track 8 - Telos

Heavy guitars and the rhythm section fade in to be taken over by screaming. Sme cool riffage around 1:30 and beyond. Trying to ignore the screaming, but it isn't easy. Things chill out at 3:30 or so. Electric Piano and an almost Jazzy groove with mellow guitar solos. Some odd sound effects over the top are a bit distracting. Then some mellow clean vocals join in. A horn section joins in around 5:45. A heavy sounding horn section though, but it works. The demon returns around 7:15. Getting a headache around 8:45. Lol?

Track 9 - Bloom

A repeated piano note with band accents starts this one off. (A shorter one at 3:29) He's doing some gruff vocals here, but not screaming. Really quirky playing & singing around 30 seconds, then the screaming starts at around 1 minute. OK, we're surfing now?around 1:30, almost like "Wipe-out". Then we start demonic screaming again. Quirkiness returns around 2:30. Complex guitar & drumming close this one out. Pretty cool track, despite the screaming. A lot going on in 3 and a half minutes.

Track 10 - Melting City

I think he's melting it with his voice, lol. He goes to a clean voice around 1:30, briefly. But this may be the heaviest song yet on the album. Things ease off at around 3:10, with some mellow playing and even a flute. Lots of time and tempo changes and mellow vocals in this part of the song. Occasional heavier parts. But the screaming returns at 6:00. Odd meter with a cool bass line around 7:15. Clean guitar chords join over the top. Nice! Pretty cool clean vocals over heavy guitars at around 9 minutes. But it returns at around 9:40 for a few seconds and the spacy sound effects bridge us over until?

Track 11 - Silent Flight Parliament

The most epic length track at over 15 minutes. I like the opening riffs and drum parts. Mellow instrumentation and vocals around 1:40. Then here we go again at 2:10. I've got to figure out how to deal with the screamy/growly vocals, because there is so much great playing. Relief about 5:15 A moderately slow tempo, with heavy guitars and clean vocals. It doesn't last though. The next section is fast & heavy with vocals alternating between growl and clean. Some cool little bits of quirky sounds pop in now and then. A unique sound starts around 8 minutes, when things chill out again. Strummed clean electric guitar happens around 9:40, followed by a heavy riff with clean vocals. Then we get a guitar solo break. Big power chords close out the solo, nice. I like the vocals at around 11:50. Growling resumes at 12:30. Nice drum fills around 13 minutes, then a string section and distant clean vocals. Screaming returns at 14:40 for the closing bits of the song.

Track 15 - Goodbye to Everything (reprise)

We return to the opening bit of the album but rocking harder this time. I like how it begins. 6-8 groove with a nice guitar solo. Harmony vocals join in and some brief clean vocals. Then we have some phasey clean guitar sounds. Some gentle strumming in the background. And we fade out.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

I have to get over my aversion to the screaming/growling vocals, because that's the only thing I don't like about this album. I get why people love this album so much. There is a bunch of cool playing, genuinely interesting rhythms and shifts in styles and timing. Honestly, it was a more interesting listen than Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryche was yesterday. (See my review, but it was a case of everything was fantastic, but it all started sounding the same after a while.) In the end though, I'm going to give it the same score as Mindcrime, 3.5 out of 5 stars, because I would have absolutely loved it were it not for the frequent screaming/growling vocal style.

Clicked 3 stars, but really 3.5.