ACID RAIN

Accessible, melodic progressive metal is the name of the game on "Shallow Paradise", a solid set of compositions I suspect will be found more interesting outside of the progressive rock oriented crowd than within it. The lack of challenging features is an aspect I surmise will be regarded as negative by the latter and positive by the former. All in all a promising disc by a talented band that appears to be developing quite nicely, and time will have to tell in what direction they will continue their musical endeavors.

And as if it weren't enough , the old problems from their first album are still there: The vocals are really poor and the songs sound more or less the same with the exeption of 2 (forgettable) ballads. There are truly no highlights on this record , it starts to wear off after 2 or 3 listens so I can only recomend "Shallow Paradise" to the fans of the band since, progressive metal you won't find it here.

I had really high expectations after the promising debut but let's hope the band focuses for the next time and delivers a much better album.

Among the pros found on this record I will list the opener "Doors of the mind" , "Time to plant Destruction" and the song that gives name to the album, Those are relatively short numbers by prog standards but this guys really show their prog credentials here. Mainly the band seems to be influenced by DT.

And now the cons... the vocals are to be honest a bit annoying. Specially due to the fact that the pronunciation (English of course) is a bit poor and the vocal style of the singer is a bit too 80's based. So that may not be everybody's cup of tea.

In the end we have a good and promising debut album by a young band , I am looking forward to listen to their sophomore effort to see what this guys can deliver in the near future. Their first offering I found it to be pretty interesting and energetic...

Compositionally and instrumentally "The Descending Line" is a fine example of progressive metal made in the Dream Theater vein, showcasing a band with a lot of promise and a good deal of talent. The lead vocals are something of an Achilles heel, however, and those who are sensitive to that aspect of a band's output should approach this album with caution. Those less keen on that aspect and generally more interested in and intrigued by instrumental and compositional dynamics should find this album to be a pleasant experience, however, and most likely a rather good production overall.