ENDANGERED

4.5 stars. I actually like this one better than their debut. I found this one to be darker, moodier and even emotional on a couple of occasions.The subject is endangered species and some of the song titles as well as the shadow of the wolf on the cover and the deer skeleton inside the liner notes, really bring home how serious this problem is. Even where I live they want to expand the developement to where I have seen deer, fox and other wildlife.They will sacrifice all of that, all in the name (so they say) of progress. When we know it's all in the name of money. As for the band, three of them are classically trained and Maske and Schmidt have even written technical manuals on their respective instruments. Yes, this band has the chops and then some. The main instruments are bass, cello, keyboard / organ and drums. Other instruments are added as well.

"Inhuman" is an experimental track that is sort of an intro for the next one. This one is eerie and haunting. It's inhuman ! Sorry, I had to say it. The swirling organ sounds are a nice touch. Bass leads the way on this one, as it does on most of the tracks. Kopecky is brilliant ! "Do You Think I'm Spooky?" was recorded live and features pounding piano as drums join in followed by bass and organ. Great sound !I love the hammond organ before 3 minutes. Hypnotic drums after 4 minutes as piano is sprinkled in. "Creature Council" is an aggressive and heavy track. It features more beautiful organ runs, and the keys and drums are prominant. Check out the bass after 3 minutes ! The song does calm down with piano, bass and light drums but it's brief. Various sounds fill the air on this next uptempo section. It gets heavy 7 1/2 minutes in before the cello arrives. Dark piano melodies end it. In the liner notes they say that the style of music in this song reflects the "metal heads" in each one of them.

"Claw" is really each member making scratching noises anyway they could. It's dark and atmospheric with strange sounds. Funny but I found this song to be a little emotional just thinking of the wildlife and the different sounds they make in their habitat that may one day disappear. Of course their claws are used to survive in various ways. This track is very experimental and it works. "Not From Around Here" originally made me think of animals who are forced into populated areas because of their homes being removed, but the band unfortunately says this title was used because this song is different from the rest. It's a jazzy, brighter song with some nice piano and bass, lots of violin as well. "Endangered" is the epic track at almost 20 minutes. My original thoughts about this song were "this is what it sounds like to be endangered". And if you listen to this song with that mind set you can feel the animals fear, and hear them on the run. The haunting sounds, the build ups,the strange alarming noises, they all go into making my imagination run wild just like a good book.

What else to say ? I'm a big fan of this band, and I think this is their best work yet. I just wish this was as much a concept album as it is in my mind. Maybe the next one ?