This was one of the more interesting progressive bands that I have heard in a
while. The music on the album moves in many different directions, breaks a
lot of musical writing rules, and contains many different influences. Basically, this is what writing a prog rock album is all about.
What makes this album so unique from many other prog albums is that a lot of
the music on the album is very diverse. For example, one track will feature
influences sounding like Rush, while others are more worldly sounding, while
others have a melodic acoustic sound with a tinge of Irish influences thrown on
top of it.
The vocal style on this album is also very unique in the sense that I have
never heard any vocals like this before. Singer Matti Ylilauri, who handles
most of the vocals and percussion duties on the album, displays a wide range of
vocal styles. He can be very melodic at times and he can become very aggressive
when singing over a tune that has more balls to it.
The guitarist Marko Oikarinen does an excellent job of playing the six
string. His electric sound reminds me of Alex Lifeson's full sound on early Rush
albums such as Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals. Aside from having
a great electric sound, he relies a lot on an acoustic sound for this album, and proves to be a great acoustic player, doing a great job at playing melodic and classical passages. Not to mention he also plays the drums on this album. When was the last time you ever heard of a guitarist play drums really well and have the balls to record it on a disc?
Ville Veijalainen does a great job at holding down the bass grooves on this
album. He definitely reminds of a Geddy Lee type player as he has a desire to
roam independently on the bass while he also plays keys. He also can play very
melodic at times, almost like a Roger Waters type sound.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire album. One of the best songs
on the album is "Everything". This track is one of the most progressive
sounding on the album and it is written in the epic style that most prog fans live
for. Actually I think the whole album is a concept dealing with our existence
in the world and what is its purpose, and it makes for a really interesting story. I definitely recommend this album.
Track Listing
1) Overture
2) Universe's End
3) Back to the Womb
4) Your God
5) Messages
6) Looking for Keith
7) The Ultimate Decision
8) A Different White
9) The Usual Black
10) In the Forest
11) In the Valley
12) Nothing
13) Everything
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