99

I must confess to being shocked the first time I heard "14.06.1999" . Knowing these guys were a Neo Prog band I wasn't prepared to hear such a heavy instrumental. Well heavy for them. This is my favourite song on the record and the guitar and drum work is excellent. "My Awakening" consists of spacey synths, ending with a monologue in this less than two minute tune. "Jezebal" is another highlight for me, the majority of the song is fairly ambient with reserved vocals and synths (after the 2 minute intro of mainly drums), but the calm soundscape is broken at about the five minute mark with soaring guitars.

"Confession" is an excellent tune that is quite dark and heavy with lots of guitar, drums and background synths. "Anathema, My Obsessions" opens with a synths and a gentle guitar melody for a minute.The song gets heavy with some soaring guitar and there is great guitar throughout. "Noel" is another good mid-paced song with the drums, vocals and guitar standing out. "Locket" is my second favourite, the vocals and synths sound dreamy and some good guitar tops it all off. The first half of "Iris" is a really good instrumental but the second half is a let down. "Purification" opens with some powerful church organ and the female vocal melodies are a nice touch. "Above" is cool with a beautiful guitar melody as the drums pound away. The guitar on the final song "d.i.r.t." is fantastic.

There is enough good material on this record to recommend it, although it's too inconsistant to give it four stars.

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