STARFOOTED

With Genesis influences worn on their sleeves and a songwriting style reminiscent of a mildly more complex IQ (but only very, very mildly), Metaphor's Starfooted isn't exactly the most original album out there. But if that's the sort of style you like - and there are so many bands playing in it these days it must be enjoyed by a lot of people - there's a lot to love here. Whilst there's othing really new about the music it is, at least, competently performed, and a wee bit more diverse in terms of instrumentation than your typical band working in this particular niche. The lyrics are actually more original, presenting as they do a simple and easy to follow summary of the beliefs of the Gnostics (well, some of them anyway - the Gnostics were a diverse bunch). Despite the not especially inspiring delivery, they do manage to provide enough of a twist to make the album not completely forgettable.

A decent effort by this group, but it's not going to set the world on fire, and it's not something I'm likely to revisit terribly often - but good enough to come back to occasionally. A solid three stars.