BILATERAL

I was quite excited with this album when i first purchased it on release, at that time it had been one of the first albums i'd ever pre-ordered. The sophomore release, Tall Poppy Syndrome, was a great album that had introduced me to the band thanks to this website. A short time after discovering the band, this album was soon to be released and my expectations were set high. Much too high. At the time, i believed that this album had met for the most part met those expectations, but that was quite a long time ago. I've listened to this album every now and again since then and recently I've given it a real consideration on just how good it really is. At the time i found the album revolutionary, albeit a bit weird and inaccessible. I suppose i wanted to like it even without its' flaws and quirks. Considering how quirky progressive rock can be is this a bad thing? Turns out it is. And some of the choices made for experimentation just weren't implemented well. One of my biggest issues is due to some of the dance-beat like drumming, which just doesn't work and doesn't impress me much. Also, the overall sound with the band is weak and thin. Really, i think is the least accessible album in their discography thus far. My current issue with this album now is that it is only a sum of its' parts, and i don't mean that as a compliment. Most of the songs just aren't that memorable standing on their own. As a cohesive unit this album holds together well, but run-time as a whole could have been trimmed down. They aren't long songs though? Well i guess its' just too much of not so great songs. There are glimpses of what was to come here, but tempos don't change all too much from song to song and again reviewing this album years later i just doesn't compare to post 'Coal' Leprous.

On the year this album was released it was an important artistic contribution to experimental prog metal, as well as a chance for the band to step out and try something different. What ultimately came of it, in hindsight, is a little hard to swallow and i find myself enjoying it less now that the novelty of it all has worn off.

As an aside, i find it funny that most of the other reviewers on this site when i first reviewed the album, which was on release, said that the album was a 'grower', but i myself found that over the years I've actually found it less and less likable.

I find this album toward the bottom of Leprous resume of album releases so far, and although i'm probably being overly critical, i can honestly say i have no desire to continue to listen to this album now that i've seen what Leprous can really do with the new bassist, drummer, and matured sound that came after this albums' release.

3.5 Stars.

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