THE EDGE

Eternity X are a band I have highly ridiculed and mocked in the past. Most notably for the fact that their previous albums, 'Zodiac' and 'Mind Games' take themselves way too seriously, which itself, wouldn't really be much of a problem, if the music wasn't so boring and uninspiring. Oddly however, while 'The Edge' isn't really any different stylistically or lyrically (other than a stronger presence of keyboards), it's an album I thoroughly enjoy.

Must be the keyboards, right?

Main songwriter and all-round focal point of the band, Keith Sudano, has clearly put his heart and soul into this record. The music is well composed, with plenty of ambitious tracks and intricate passages, as well as some very personal and emotional lyrics. The musicianship is tight, with the usual progressive metal traits all here in full force, such as long track durations, interesting guitar riffs, crazy time signatures and a vast use of different sounds. There's plenty of instrumental acrobatics allowing for everyone to shine ('The Edge Part 3' is an interesting example of this) and there's a strong symphonic element to the music too.

Some of the highlights from this album include 'Imaginarium', 'The Edge of Madness', 'The Confession', 'Baptized by Fire', and parts two, three and the "Legacy Reprise" section of 'The Edge'. The album is consistently strong from start to finish.

'The Edge' is an ambitious release that will certainly take some time to get into, but will be worth the effort. It's funny that I like it as much as I do, since it's nothing overly different than what had come before, but there's just something here that resonates with me. It's a shame that Eternity X would go on to disband and Keith Sudano would take a leave of absence from music, because for all the flack I've given this band for their previous releases, this really is a brilliant album, and could have led to great things if they'd continued down this path.