THE INNER CIRCLE OF REALITY

The band of the virtuoso Richard Andersson, a master of keyboards.

The new album The Inner Circle Of Reality is not different of the first Time Requiem.

Obviously, this album is very high technical and neo-classical but it does not sounds original. It looks like Symphony X, but it is not as good as the masters. The playing of Richard Andersson remembers the guitar hero Michael Romeo, espiecially on the solos. But these are too long, generally longer than 1'30". This reproach can be made concerning the tracks. Too long and not very inspired. Evenmore, the vocals are not very original (a clone of Russel Allen?).

However, some passages are interesting like the instrumental part of "The Inner Circle Of Reality" or "Reflections".

In conclusion, an album only for keyboardists (they will disgusted and impressed!!) or fans of Richard Andersson.

Im going to back up the previous review- this is one of those albums where you hear a song, and it sounds very cool at 1st. But upon futher listening- you find that its a cd theat you will RARELY listen to-

Yes- there is some obvious talent- but this is the bottom line- the songs have NO SOUL WHAT SO-EVER

The keyboards are amazing- mostly technical stuff- so if you like keyboards, AND LOTS OF THEM- then this is for you- otherwise- stay away!!

The best of today's progressive metal has its roots in classical music.

That may be a bold statement, but listen to Time Requiem's two studio albums. There are dozens of prog-metal bands who can write wonderful melodies with nice song structures, build in all of the elements of prog, and produce music that ranges from okay to very good. But for a metal band to elevate itself to the rarified level of a Sea Of Tranquility 4½ or 5-star rating, there has to be something really special. Richard Andersson is the mastermind behind Time Requiem and his song structures and his musicianship and his classical influences follow the virtuoso levels of a Uli John Roth, an Andre Andersen (no relation), an Alex Masi, or his friend and Swedish compatriot, Yngvie Malmsteen.

The Inner Circle Of Reality is Anderssen's second studio album under the guise of "Time Requiem" and just one listen to the complex, deeply textured 11-minute title track and you'll be convinced of both - the classical and the prog influences. Then fast-forward to the wonderfully melodic "Quest Of A Million Souls" and those classical influences are so strong that you'll wonder if this is really metal. The son of a music teacher, Andersson was something of a child prodigy whose first record purchase was a Mozart piece; and he admits to using Paganini and Bach themes as the basis for some of the tracks on this album. But there's no mistaking the fact that this is metal, complete with double-base, wailing vocals, crunchy rhythm and blistering solos - some on guitar, others on keyboards with a guitar patch a la Dream Theater. The pace of this music is breathless, even in the slower songs, which are too upbeat to be called ballads. The intensity and the relentlessly driving rhythms will leave you exhausted.

Besides those passages that emulate high speed guitar solos, Anderssen's keyboards add orchestral Mellotron-like backdrops and classic Mini-moog-like solos that mimic Rick Wakeman. Apollo Papathanasio's ballsy vocals have been accurately described as being close to Russell Allen - strong, flexible, good range, but never breaking into a falsetto wail. Probably the strongest musical feature is the very tight interplay between the excellent guitar work and those virtuoso keyboards. And don't be misled by the inclusion of the bassist and drummer from The Flower Kings. These guys' performance is also pure metal, and nothing like the jazzy-prog sound of their home band. As a matter of interest, bassist Jonas Reingold co-produced the album with Andersson.

Symphony X fans will appreciate Time Requiem because of the intricate riffing and the mature song structures, Dream Theater fans will appreciate the technical elegance the Rudess/Petrucci-esque soloing, and the complex melodies carried on blistering arpeggios. Or imagine a slightly simpler version of Royal Hunt. Whatever the comparison - the musicianship on this record is excellent, the tunes are memorable, and most of all, it gets better with multiple replays.

Time Requiem is one of the best examples of how must sound a neo classical progressive metal band. They are from Sweden and releasing so far 3 solid albums. Formed around the excellent keybordist Richard Anderson after disbanding his porevious band Majesty in 2001, Time Requiem capture the listner with some fascinating moments, keeping in mind that the main man Anderson has in parallel another band mainly similar in aproach, musicaly speaking named Space Odyssey , maybe little more symphonic then TR. So, The inner circle of reality is their second album from 2004 and to me their best. I was surprised to se how low rated is and no collaborator reviewed this album yet, strange. The album has some fabulous keyboards arrangements, Rischard Anderson is one of the fastest and unique keyboard players I've ever heared in this genre and not only, his style is flashy , technical interluded very well with the rest of the musicians. The influences are mainly from Jens Johannsson from Startovarius, Mastermind and ex Malmsteen keybord player, but melted with his excellent elements give a special atmospheare to the album overall. The musicians are top notch, Reingold on bass and Czorsz on drums both from The Flower Kings fame done a great job, quite diffrent from what they play in FG here asweel are excellent, the vocalist from Majestic Apollo Papathanasio is brilliant and he inegrated in the TR sound very well, his voice is perfect, quite operatic in places remind me a little bit of Russel from Symphony X, the music aswell in some parts is similar. So, all pieces are great, the title track is killer, progressive metal with barrock and neo classical moves of the ehighest calibre, even ABBA cocer Voulez Vous is very ok in this context. 4 stars easy for this album, very under rated in my opinion, the head of the band Richard Anderson is very underrated aswell keybordist in comparation with other names, realy he desearve to more on front page, his a master of the instrumet and aan excellent sonwritter for sure. Fans of Symphony X, Majestic (Sweden), Space Odyssey , Stratovarius in places and even Yngwie Malmsteen must check out this band because they worth every second belive me. Recommended.