| The
Review |
Silence is not what I'd expect an album such as this to
be titled. It's hard to keep quiet about this release. It's
easily their best to date and when you consider the melodic
wonderment they've created in the past, that's no small task.
If I weren't so reserved and didn't live on a prairie,
you'd find me shouting from the mountaintops in regards to
this one. Okay, I lied. Not about the terrain, because where
I live, the land is far from hilly. As to my reticence, I'm
not exactly shy and people have accused me of having my off-switch
permanently fused in the "on" position. With that said, I
plan to holler out to all my homies here.
To give you an idea how their songs sound, each would
undoubtedly qualify as a candidate, if there ever were one,
to the sequel of Queen's A Night At The Opera. Its genetic
material spans the tribes of Spock's Beard's, Salem Hill,
and Dream Theater. Like I mentioned, Queen is obviously nuzzled
in there, but I hear Genesis and, oddly enough, Jethro Tull.
There are moments that also draw from Echolyn, Kansas, IQ
and Magic Pie. If that's not already sufficient, there is
even a hint of Izz and Styx in the mix.
Individually, these artists draw from several veritable
influences. The singing borrows from Freddie Mercury while
the guitars are a combination of Brian May and Paul Bremner.
Then there is the bass, which is a cross between John Jowitt
and Dave Meros. The drums might be the hardest to categorize,
but all you need to know is that they're distinguished. If
I were pressed, I'd say they're an amalgamation of Mike Portnoy,
Alan White, and Greg Moon. Shame on me for almost forgetting
about the keyboards. My dear, I really do care and it's clear
to me they're Martin Orford, maybe with a trace of Tomas Bodin
of Ryo Okumoto.
I'm sincere in my assertions and entirely telling the
truth. If you see them on the street, feel free to let them
know they're welcome for such a set of compliments. Be advised,
my allegations are accruate, neither tall tales, nor jokes,
nor pranks.
While I enjoyed earlier output from this band, this album
is considerably more polished. I'd go so far as to say it
is superior in a substantial way. It's tweaked to perfection
with absolutely little friction between its parts. With their
induction into the InsideOut Music label, it seems they've
brought their game to a whole new level and demonstrated a
team spirit that could hardly be topped.
I'm still processing what I've heard. There's a lot to
chew on in each of these newfangled cuts. It's surprising
they fit it all on such a tiny platter. Like a proton, they
create volume within their structured busyness. Additionally,
their brilliance doesn't just trickle in on indiscriminate
occasion. Instead, this intelligent creation contains 19 separate
well-established, unshakable, and unwavering thoughts.
As Spock's Beard did on Day For Night, an entire suite
of songs constitutes a single concept. Here they call it "Consequences"
and it's comprised of 9 of their cleverest components. This
stunning collection includes "Silent Screams," "Introduction"
(which for some strange reason comes in the second slot),
"The Millionaire," "Joanna," "A Father's Love," "Memory To
Fight," "The Diary," "A Wound That Won't Heal," and "The Final
Silence." It's like an insanely eccentric rendering of Dream
Theater's "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" or Salem Hill's
"Stolen By Ghosts."
No album warrants a dissertation when it has so many
items to assess. If it did, this would be the one, but I'm
not in the mood to go through it track-by-track and write
a thesis. With all they accomplish, I'm just too lazy to commit.
Even if I did, this especially would require quite the ambitious
analysis.
While all the songs are remarkable, it's "the long one"
that requires some additional notice. It ranges from light
to heavy as well as introverted to outgoing. It has both white
and dark meat in its folds. As to the fat, little does it
hold. In other words, it's all good and healthy. Well, actually
the storyline is sad, but the tempo is uplifting.
This is what the word masterpiece was meant to describe.
If you looked it up in the dictionary, it's the very definition
of progressive. However, it draws so many influences; it actually
deserves its own encyclopedia entry. It's not just the melody,
but the lyrical depth that makes it a tried and true magnum
opus. With each listen, I ratchet my admiration and esteem
up another incremental step. Considering all that this album
possesses, you'll be flabbergasted by the fact there is also
a computer-based bonus encoded on this disc.
As out there as it is at times, I heard two familiar
melodies hidden within its internals. Firstly, there's a recurrent
riff from Air Supply's "All Out Of Love" in "Consequences".
Moreover, Spock's Beard's "Game Face" and The Romantics' "Talking
In Your Sleep" occur elsewhere. That'd be in the song, "Out
Of Ideas," which they must have fussily deliberated over in
order to assemble.
For me, it's the epic that scores biggest. "Into The
Unknown" is another one that I surely enjoy, but let's just
stop right there. Honestly, there is something positive that
comes out of every piece. When conferring over this release,
it would not take long to get lost within my giddy stream
of consciousness as I sincerely believe it to be a true work
of genius. Yet, you have to listen to it more than once to
be among those who truly appreciate it.
We've seen many great albums come and go in the modern
day, but it's a rarity when one so decisively engulfs the
listener in irresistible bliss... In a nutshell, A.C.T is
E.X.C.E.P.T.I.O.N.A.L
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