SELLING THE AGGRESSION

I knocked Aurora Project's "Shadow Border" a bit simply for sounding like a mix-mash of contemporaries like Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, Shadow Gallery, amongst others, and while the sounds have developed and improved on originality, the songs still sound the same.

"Dualistic Consciousness" has a DT vibe to it, but isn't longer than it needs to be. It's got some great chords, but the vocals are everywhere. It continues the trend of the last album where the vocals dominate everything, which is disappointing, because there are flashes of instrumental prowess on both albums, but it's just not enough to pique my interest. "Turning of the Tide" has a nice neo-prog feel to it, a la Porcupine Tree, and then amps the drama and drone by tracks end, but it's still missing something, a hook or a catch to lure me in.

The title track is another example. Singer Dennis Binnekade does his best James LaBrie impersonation, and the pomp and circumstance is there at the chorus, but it's still missing something. It's either a tad too long, or it needs a guitar solo or something, while "The Oil Supremacy" sounds way too much like diet Dream Theater.

"The Sense of Reality" is probably one of my favorites of the album. From the indie rock-like opening to the stutter-step bridge in the middle, it moves and meanders and still stays cohesive and keeps the flow going. "Speeding Up Of Time" is another forgettable DT clone and "Newtopia" is just a few minutes too long.

So really, this album suffers from the same pox as the previous one. In fact, this album sounds even more like a diet Dream Theater album, and yet there's still a serious lack of technicality or musicality. The key signatures stay the same, and the singing chokes the entire record. On top of it, after listening to the album, nothing compelled me to go back and listen to it again, and that's a big deal for me. Think about it, the reason you listen to something for the first time is because it's new. The reason you listen to something the second time is because you want to hear it again, and nothing about this album compels me enough to go back and listen to it again. There's no snappy chorus, no innovative instrumentation, no awesome solo, nothing. It's just bland, which is a real shame, because these guys could do some great things if they just branched out a bit more.

3.0