THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

THEATER OF THE ABSURD are basically a 2 man band out of New York City with four guests helping out with vocals, keyboards, mellotron and piano. This is their second release and as others have mentioned their style of music is in the Prog-Metal vein with an avant flavour. I must say that the music is very technical at times and with the abundance of acoustic Grand piano we get almost a classical vibe going on. We get both clean and harsh male vocals along with female vocals.

Certainly "False Idols" stands out as one of my favourites with the instrumental gymnastics going on although I prefer the more laid back passages. "The Lesser Gods" is okay but I really am not a fan of the clean vocals that remind me of STYX for some reason. This is more of a bombastic tune and one i'm not a big fan of it. I do like the guitar before 3 minutes though. Female vocals follow with plenty of piano and drums standing out then back to the bombast. A calm after 5 minutes. "Trade Winds" opens with the piano being the focus although the drums and guitar come and go before the male vocals come in. Again technical and complex are words that come to mind. Best part of the song is the instrumental bit coming in around 5 1/2 minutes. "Rising Tides In Still Water" kicks into gear fairly quickly and builds. Intense is the word. This is great as female vocal melodies come in. A top three tune although the growly vocals after 3 minutes and later are a let down.

"For Nostalgia's Burden, Part I : Our Quiet Fears" opens really well for my tastes as we get some atmosphere and check out the acoustic guitar that follows. Nice. Reserved vocals join in and this all sounds so good until it kicks in with growly vocals after 3 minutes. Back to the reserved vocals and sound. I like the female vocal melodies late. "For Nostalgia's Burden, Part II : In My Time Of Solace" opens with picked guitar as drum flourishes come and go. The guitar starts to grind it out as the intensity picks up. Growly vocals before 2 minutes and they will come and go. Clean female and male vocals trade off as the drums dominate instrumentally. More growly vocals as themes are repeated. "Black Wind From Mr. Takamine" is a short 1 1/2 minute instrumental that is pleasant to say the least. "Changing Direction" opens impressively and it's almost jazzy actually, then what sounds like organ joins in followed by clean male vocals. A calm follows with laid back vocals. The intensity rises after 4 1/2 minutes and harsh vocals join in as well.

I've said many times that we all have different tastes when it comes to music and this album is the perfect example of that. I'm impressed with the way these guys play but I prefer the more traditional sounding Prog-Metal or at least Metal that has plenty of melancholia and atmosphere. I'm not big on the male vocals here or the acoustic piano. I agree with Connor on the 3.5 stars but for me it's closer to 3 stars than 4 stars.