THE GRAND DESIGN

Day Six are a progressive metal band, and "The Grand Design" certainly delivers progressive metal.

But we ar not dealing with the flamboyant sort of progressive metal associated with the likes of Dream Theater. Day Six are progressive in that they experiment with the juxtaposition of various different moods through combination of soft and heavy parts and generally make use of complex song structures without their music ever being complicated. They also draw on the psechedelia of the progressive rock of the 70s in a fashion that reminds me a bit of Alrune Rod.

This results in a dark and slightly pyschedelic type of heavy but catchy mushc which one can easily lose oneself in. Thus, I think that "The Grand Design" has something in common with Psychotic Waltz, Thine and Opeth (minus the death metal elements, of course), all of whom also draw on the darker types of psychedelic progressive rock.

In addition to these elements there are some heavy and groovy guitar riffs and a lot of clean guitar parts with atmospheric keyboards, and there is even some midnight sax on "Lost Identity" which works brilliantly. In addition, the bans also seems to draw a bit on the alternative rock and metal of the 90s, as there are some solos that sound inspired by Tom Morello and riffs that sound inspired by Alice in Chains.

This sounds like a mishmash doomed to fail; actually my original review of this album on heavymetal.dk got a comment from a user who argued that "The Grand Design" just sounds like a long messy jam session with no structure at all. That's not my experience of this album. I think that all of these elements really add up well together, the the result is a dark type of progressive metal which fans of early Psychotic Waltz, I think, would appreciate.

Recommended to fans of progressive metal, gothic metal, and 70s progressive rock.

(review originally posted in Danish on heavymetal.dk, and in English on metalmusicarchives.com and progfreak.com)

4.5 stars. Hey they're back ! It's been seven years since the debut and they sound better than ever. DAY SIX are a Prog-Metal band out of The Netherlands and I was very impressed with their debut and reviewed it 4 1/2 years ago on here.This is a concept album and I really like the way they use the synths to create atmosphere.They can get really heavy at times but they mix it up well. Lots of samples too. I enjoy the singer's voice a lot.Yes this all adds up to a must-have for Prog-Metal fans.

"Massive Glacial Wall" opens with atmosphere before the music kicks in quickly and hard. Synths are howling in the background before a calm settles in with reserved vocals. Not for long though.The contrasts do continue though. I like the samples of people speaking that come and go. Great track.Samples,strings and synths end it. "Lost Identity" opens with dark but laid back guitar as reserved vocals join in. I love when it kicks in heavily. Synths too. Again contrasts continue between the heavy and atmospheric. Another killer tune. I like the laid back guitar solo before 3 1/2 minutes.Sax after 6 minutes followed by some nice bass. It calms right down a minute later as relaxed guitar joins in.

"Castel Gandolfo" has these heavy outbursts that come and go to start until they stay with synths.Vocals before a minute. Listen to the synths howling before 2 minutes. It settles before 3 1/2 minutes and it's dark. It picks back up around 5 minutes then the vocals return. "Inside" has these laid back guitar melodies in a dark atmosphere. It's slowly building. Here we go ! That happens at 3 minutes and vocals follow. Killer sound after 5 minutes. A calm with vocals 6 minutes in then it kicks back in at 9 1/2 minutes and even harder at 13 1/2 minutes and again to end it. What a track !

"Fergus Falls" opens with a beat and organ. Reserved vocals replace the organ. It turns heavy before 1 1/2 minutes.This is great ! It settles back again but contrasts continue. Love those heavy sections. "A Soul's Documentary" is almost ballad-like but it's better after 1 1/2 minutes because of the drumming. "Age Of Technology" has a heavy intro with organ. It settles back with vocals 1 1/2 minutes in but the heaviness returns. Nice guitar after 3 minutes. Excellent sound 4 1/2 minutes in.Vocals are back around 6 minutes. "7th Sign" has such a great intro with those haunting synths and dark atmosphere. It kicks in at 1 1/2 minutes. A nice heavy soundscape after 4 1/2 minutes. Samples too. Synths sweep in at 6 minutes as it settles again.Great tune. "In The End..." has some incredible atmosphere then the guitar joins in. The atmosphere is beautiful as sounds echo.

An amazing album from beginning to end. Every Metal fan needs to hear this one.

This Dutch band focuses more on creating atmosphere than flashy technique, but they are still quite good at what they do. The atmospheres are contrasted - alternating dark melancholic passages and heavy, sometimes crushing riffs (witness Massive Glacial Wall). Somehow it reminds me of a desolate landscape and then a snowstorm. Which is fitting, considering that the album's concept deals with an alien ship found in Antarctica. And in a smarter way, not your typical X-Files way.

Anyway, contrary to what might be expected, the vocalist has a not too poweful, but pleasant, slightly melancholic regular guy voice, which I could easily imagine in a indie rock band.

For a higher rating I would like to see more variety in sound, but these songs still contain few proggy surprises, such as a midnight sax in Lost Identity, or soulful passages in the song-within-a-song Fergus Falls. And the melodies are quite hummable. I also like the occasional rumbling organ sound, giving more depth to the music. So, to encourage nice guys for what they do, I give them 4 stars.