| The
Review |
Well, I guess I am in the minority on this one. The cover
of the album makes you think you are in for a power metal
80's party, but it turns out only the 80's part is true. No
power metal here - rather, this is symphonic prog that could
be placed in the "neo" camp if you like labels. Medium to
longish songs that appear to be influenced by Pendragon, late
period Camel and some IQ. Could be a recipe for success, and
indeed, most reviews I have seen of this album are extremely
favorable. (IQ happens to be one of my favorite bands)
Two big problems keep me from liking this disc, however.
The first is the singer. The accent is just too much and I
also don't think his voice is all that great. An accent alone
with a great voice can be dealt with (Clepsydra is a prime
example), but Hein van den Broek's vocals are mediocre at
best. He also seems stuck in the 80's. Bad vocals can even
be overcome if the music is wonderful, but this is not the
only problem here. The keyboards have the worst quality to
me that a prog band can have nowadays: the dreaded 80's sound.
That's right, folks: "plastic" sounds that are from 1987 dominate
this disc. The first track, "Strangelight", even has moments
that remind me of Europe's "The Final Countdown". Ugghh. On
top of these two faults, I am really not a big fan of the
music either - there is not much memorable and I have the
"I've heard this all before, but in the 80's" feeling.
Again, I seem to be the only one with these feelings,
so if you felt a lack of mid to late 80's prog and wish some
would revert to that style - this is the disc for you. I was
underwhelmed.
Rating: 2 stars
|
