SOLA SCRIPTURA

I must say that this album is an incredible accomplishment. Probably the best if not the best from Neal's solo catalog up to this point. The keyboard under the hands of the magician are carrying out waves of inspiration and layers of enjoyment covering one each other. Listening to this is simply bliss. The concept behind the album is based on Martin Luther story, the German priest and professor of theology who initiated the protestant reformation. What is great about Martin legacy is the way he doubted Catholic religious practices. Neal tried and succeeded to present the story in a very good way both musically and lyrically.

Mike Portnoy is the master behind drums. I saw them together in Transatlantic and they are completing very good one each other. Mike is crazy, Neal is calm. Mike looks like a rock star. If you don't know Neal you wouldn't say he is involved in a prog rock band and also in Transatlantic. Both of them are among my top musicians in the last years and they are making a very good team. I only hope they will continue to work together on Neal's solo albums and I hope we will get in the future some surprises from Transatlantic.

Believing or not the first song has almost half an hour. I've listened to it several times and every time I'm doing it with the same pleasure. The entire song is extremly good but the last few minutes are simply out of this world("Upon the door").

The most interesting thing about the second song is the Latino odor which I bit unusual for Neal. It is also a very long composition(25 minutes) in the same way as the first song with great key parts, beautiful interludes and powerful heavy sections. It is very hard to make such long compositions and keep the listener active in the same time but Neal succeeded to do this. The same thing is valid for the last song("The conclusion") with the same symphonic and bombastic approach.

The shortest song is third one if we compare it to the other three. It is a light and very enjoyable moment before the final song "The conclusion".

The only draw back I could find is that sometime the music is a bit predictable and follow the same pattern: powerful keyboards/guitar driven parts ending up in a mellow and melodic part but the very good quality of the songs compensate this. The cover is beautiful, inspired and in the spirit of the music and concept behind. The floor made out of stone from the cover looks really great with the lightly door shown in the back. In the middle of this scene stays a monk which seems to sweep that stony floor.

Highly recommended and one of the best efforts in the modern progressive rock world.