STARFOOTED

Time for this review because I just did the review of a more or less underwhelming album and I suddenly thought of this one as being a really overwhelming one. In my quest for the greatest neo on earth I stumbled over this one, heard it a couple of times and can only come up with: this must be one of the most overlooked prog albums ever.

Metaphor is in all reviews regarded as a Genesis clone (or at least cover band) and therefore referred as such where the influences are concerned. Of course these influences are there but so are many others but to me this band produces highly original compositions with great variations and transitions within the songs. These are so original, I hardly heard anything like this before and I feel it's cheap to link it all to the seventies as if Metaphor owes it all to that era and the bands that domiated that period. Metaphor is simply and incredibly talented band, mainly where the compositions are concerned but also with the execution is hardly anything wrong. I disagree with the comments that John Maybry is a poor vocalist. I think he fits these songs and this musical style perfectly.

But I keep coming back to the songs and then mainly the first 5,6 which are simply amazing. The build up is genius and the songs are very complex and therefore so worth while to check out. It will take at least ten spins to begin to get the hang of them and after that you start enjoying them more and more. So many musical ideas put in each song and still they all make a perfectly flowing composition. Twists and turns flying all over the place, I simply can't get enough listening to this album.

In the end it's a pity the last few songs really go a few steps too far where originality is concerned because that spolis the highest possible rating for me. If the album would have consisted of the first seven songs it would have been a masterpiece for me but as it is now I will have to cut down to four but it's still 4,5 everything considered.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR EVERY PROG FAN !!