THE FRAGILE BEAUTY

This is an album--the fourth from this quartet from Germany--that straddles the bridge between prog metal and symphonic prog fairly well--with sound and style similar to bands like EPICA or NIGHTWISH--only without a successful convergence or outcome.

1. "Portrait" (8:36) great song with amazing keyboard work and orchestral arrangements, a stunning guitar solo, but weak vocals. (18/20)

2. "Circus in Town" (4:55) a very odd musical mix--almost as if part of it came from the 1990s and was trying to be mixed into the . The vocalist is a little better at staying on key than the one on the opening song, but he's not a great lead singer (lacking experience or polish?) It's as if they're trying to be RUSH with a hint of 80s metal. (8.75/10)

3. "Moth in a Flame" (7:48) a fairly pleasant STYX-like song in which several individual instruments feel as if they are working within their own different universes. Are they aware of each other? The way they use keys, space, and melody would lend credence to the possibility that they aren't--including and especially the vocalist. Weird. (13/15)

4. "The Eternal Spinning (6:52) the MIREK GIL-imitating guitarist is going non-stop from the previous song! Forcing everyone else to conform to his key, pace, and melodic sensibility. I think the keyboardist and drummer are both fighting to play louder than the guitarist--to drown him out! And, once again, it just feels as if the vocalist has no clue as to where or what or how to sing with, much less within, this music. He just sings over anything he wants, often butchering the music below. A wild deviation in pace and style at 3:26 forces me to recognize that part of the problem is probably in the over-heavy use of delay and reverb on the keys and guitar. And the fact that the two "matching" vocalists have no regard or respect for the other's style and timing. They will be no COLLAGE. I keep wondering what the music would be like were the band members all on the same page. And what's with the orchestral arrangement? Was it composed for this song--or just mistakenly mixed into it? (11/15)

5. "The Siren's Song" (6:49) two dueling guitars with straightforward prog metal open this beofre dropping away to allow the piano-based, strings-supported soft vocal. The vocalist's voice actually sounds pretty good so long as he stays in the range of his speaking voice--but as soon as he deviates from that octave, things go wonky. Still, without so many divergent ideas coming from each individual band member the song almost works. Almost. It's just too dull--and marred by the flawed vocal. (12.25/15)

6. "Secret of the Sea" (3:58) don't know where they're trying to go with this hand-panned guitar-arpeggio--to which is added a pseudo-classical tenor vocal performance. In the chorus he decays into a kind of Jamee Young (STYX) tone and style. Guitar, 1990s keyboard winds, and orchestral sthrings each seem to be operating in their own isolated vacuum--which is too bad cuz in isolation they each sound pretty awesome; they just don't work together. It's as if you tried to weave together flourescent orange yarn, warm chocolate syrup, and spaghetti (8.25/10)

7. "Boat to Utopia" (7:55) Again! How can they not listen to these master tapes and see/feel the same clash of incongruities that I do? Am I starting to lose it? (11.5/15)

8. "A Drone's Plight" (4:37) trying to overcome their issues with organ and djenty power chords. At least it's all working in the same universe. Could be an outtake from one of COLLAGE's lost unreleased albums from the 1990s. (8.5/10)

9. "The Eye of the Storm (5:52) multiple keys battling for attention with insidious BLACK SABBATH guitar and voice somewhere in there until the keys mysteriously and suddenly just disappear at the end of the first minute. Weird vocal in the soft section in the third and fourth minutes followed by over-acted narration part. Push repeat and then superimpose an over-the-top two-guitar (or guitar and synth) duel in the final minute and you've got it. (or, can anyone every really get this stuff?) (7.75/10)

10. "Lullaby (5:23) more akin to one of STEVE HACKETT's nightmare songs. Again, the soloing guitar track must have been created/recorded in one decade (the 1980s) while the keys and bass were done in the 1990s, the drums and psychedelic vocals in the 1970s, while the orchestra parts could've been done anytime. Who are these guys and why can't they get on the same page? Another collection of very pretty tracks in the vein of 1990s COLLAGE that somehow went awry. (8.25/10)

Total Time 62:45

Despite it's wonderful sound palette and amazing talents of guitarist Ottfried Mietzke and keyboardist Gunnar Sletta, the vocals and at-times too-predictable musical flows diminish an otherwise very enjoyable and often- impressive listening journey. Most of the songs are very odd soundscapes in which it feels as if two or three very different song ideas are being forced together. While this results in unusual and, therefore, "new" sounding musics, the differing instrumental tracks often remain very much at odds with one another throughout the song. What really hurts, and why I chose to write and publish this review--is because there are some truly wonderful sounds and ideas here . . . they're just all jumbled up and spit out in some randomly mixed jumble like vomit.

C/three stars; an unfortunate case of wonderful ideas never coming to common consensual finish.