HANDFUL OF RAIN

It's hard to imagine how difficult this album must have been to make after the death of Criss Oliva by a drunk driver. Former TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick takes Criss' place.

The first song "Taunting Cobras" is a little over the top for my tastes, it just doesn't seem to work. "Handful Of Rain" makes up for it though. Opening with gentle vocals and acoustic guitar, it changes after a minute to a heavy, powerful song until towards the end of the song it goes back to the opening melody. "Chance" is all over the place, and includes some orchestral arrangements. Lots of tempo shifts and the vocal arrangements towards the end of the song are pretty cool. Good song."Stare Into The Sun" is another good tune with great guitar, and reserved vocals for the most part.

"Castles Burning" is another highlight for me, especially the fantastic guitar melodies. "Visions" is an orchestral sounding instrumental. "Watching You Fall" is all about the lyrics. "Nothing Going On" is great ! A straight forward, hell bent for leather rocker. The guitarist closes this song down. "Symmetry" is another great song with some smoking guitar. "Alone you breathe" is the final song and is dedicated to Criss Oliva. This song is heart breaking to say the least and features a lot of beautiful piano.

Overall I find this record a little inconsistant, but there is enough good material to recommend it.