RIPPLES IN TIME

3.5 stars. Man i had such a hard time with this rating. There is so much to like about this Prog-Metal record from Denmark. The problem for me was it didn't have that ingredients that move me or excite me. It's a great listen but I would reach for dozens of other Prog-Metal cds before I would this one. I'm not a big fan of how the synths are used on this album, and I wish there was more bottom end. It's lacking emotion for me as well. I'm just trying to justify my rating because this is good music.

The first track "Nightmachine" is ok but perhaps not the best track to start off with. "Full Moon" makes up for it though. Some heaviness on this one comes and goes throughout. "In My Own Dream" is another highlight for me and the best so far. I like when he sings "In my own dream" with the backup vocals. Blistering guitar 3 minutes in. Great tune. "Shadowsong" features piano and synths and it's so beautiful. "Through" opens and closes with rain and thunder. In between the focus is on the vocals. It's ok. "Kosmonauten Er Dod" is an uptempo and heavy soundscape but the synths make it average for my tastes.

"Le Temp Des Assassins" opens with a jet taking off. It features thundering drums and aggressive vocals. "Sorry" is better as it goes from mellow to rather emotional and passionate. Some atmosphere 2 minutes in. He screams after 2 1/2 minutes followed by some tasteful guitar. "Ripples In Time" is divided into 4 parts. The first part opens with some synth waves before the drums come in and then some heaviness. I like the deep bass that folows the vocals. Part II continues with some monster bass in the intro. Almost doom-like before 3 minutes. Ripping guitar follows. Part III is slower paced but heavy. Man I wish the rest of the album was like the first three parts of this title track. This part does turn mellow with reserved vocals though. The tempo picks up after 3 minutes. The final part opens with piano. This may be almost ballad-like but it's pretty amazing.

Good but not great.

"Ripples In Time" is the debut full-length studio album by Danish progressive metal act Chrome Shift. The album was released through DVS Records in 2003. Chrome Shift was formed in 1999 and released a demo in 2000. They turned out to be a relatively short lived act though and "Ripples In Time" is their sole album release.

The music on the album is progressive metal. It´s heavy yet melodic vers/chorus oriented metal. The challenging instrumental parts are kept to a minimum so to my ears this is actually more regular heavy metal with progressive elements than full-blown progressive metal. The keyboards do provide the album with a progressive touch though and the closing four tracks which seque into each other to form the epic title track also display some progressive tendencies. Don´t expect this to be as challenging or adventurous as an act like Dream Theater or their ilk though. The compositions are generally solid but they do lack originality and a personal sound.

The musicianship is overall on a high level. Lead vocalist Rasmus Bak has a strong and powerful voice and the interplay between the rest of the band is impeccable. The sound production is relatively well sounding, but nothing special, and it could easily have been better, which would probably have boosted the music.

"Ripples In Time" is overall a decent debut album by Chrome Shift but it will first and foremost appeal to fans of vers/chorus oriented progressive metal and not fans of the more challenging part of the genre. To my ears the music is a bit too safe and lacks the adventurous progressive spirit that characterizes the top tier acts in the genre. But as I stated above it´s a decent album in the respect that the musicianship and the compositions are of a relatively high quality, so a 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong.

I will beggin my review by saying that my fellow prog metal lover sinkadotentree describe exactly what is going on with this album, I feel the same all the way. This young danish prog metal band deliver a single album so far in 2003 named Ripples in time (what a great title), and is in my opinion a good one. The music is ok, even in places is quite intristing with many complex passages like on Sorry ,In My Own Dream or Kosmonauten Er Dod. Typical album for prog metal scene, with many good synth passages and blistering guitars, that gives to the album a good atmosphere. Sometimes they remind me of course of Dream Theater or Empty Tremor. So, as a whole a good album, pleasent most of the time .4 stars easy for sure, they disbanded in 2008