SPHERES

After the good Testimony of the Ancients album, I was rather surprised when I heard Spheres for the first time and I must say dissapointed too. I bought Spheres when it came out and the first couple of years didn´t listen to it too much, as I found it "Soft" and not edgy enough for my metal ears. I developed a taste for prog though through the nineties and suddenly one day when I listened to Spheres everything fell into place.

I still don´t regard Pestilence as being a part of the absolute tech/ Prog/ Jazz metal elite ( Cynic, Atheist), but Spheres is a damn good album.

The album is famous in the metal world for the extensive use of synth guitar ( it is highlightet in the sleeve notes that no keyboards were used on the album which obviously was something these guys wanted to emphasize ( funny enough Cynic writes exactly the same on Focus). The sound is very odd for a metal album and with the jazzy soloing this was a garantee for a progressive metal album.

Standout tracks are the title track with the many soloes and moods and the track in the middle Personal Energy which is just a beautiful tranquill moment in the midst of chaos. There are no fillers on the album and it is generally a very strong album.

The reason for not giving this album 5 stars ( as many others would give it) is that I find similar albums from Cynic and Atheist to be better and more essential, but this one is just behind. If you like bands like Cynic and Atheist chances are you will like this album very much.