600!!!
Another milestone reached as this is my 600th review.
This is a vinyl reissue of the band’s 4th studio album, originally released in 2002. Their second album, The God Thing, is one of my favourite albums of the genre. They have the perfect sound for me, with the huge guitars and the crystal clear production, it’s what your hi-fi was made for. This album is a continuation and it’s just superb. Very strong songs and arrangements with a killer production – this is Prog metal at its best. Equal parts Dream Theater, Metallica, and Dokken is about as close as I can get to describe their sound, but they are much more than that.
Nightwalker opens up the album in fine style and is an epic tune in the truest sense of the word. Cold Wind will blow you away with the perfect balance between crunch and melody – a superb track. They know how to tone it down and change the pace perfectly, as the beginning to Scarlet Flower Fields has such beauty before the power takes over, add to that a killer instrumental section, and ladies and gentlemen we have a contender. Healing Tree is a power ballad with the emphasis being on the power as well as melody. End Of All Days starts off at a pace with pounding double kicks that you can feel. The beauty and the power vie for your attention, and the guitar sound is freakin’ huge. Free The Fire starts with the heavy Metallica style chuggas, and Andy Kuntz’s soaring vocals. This track really drives hard and fast, and the keyboards just sit behind the guitar to really make this a huge sound.
Can You Hear Me is the one true ballad on the album, but the melody is just superb. Phoenix closes out Side 3, and I love the heavy off time grooves, those harmonies and vocal melodies are just awesome, and the guitar solo…well!!! Side 4 is given over to the title track, which is killer as it twists and builds into the inevitable crescendo. This version has a bonus track, Point Of No Return, which, if you can imagine, sounds a bit like Yes with heavy guitars.
A truly superb record that you should grab a copy of ASAP. A final warning however, this is my third copy of this album. The previous two were unplayable as they had defects in the same place on both records, and the copy I have now is very noisy. Frontiers need to get their quality control in order as this is not the first problem I have had with their pressings.
10/10 (for the music) from The Grooveman.
