THOUGHT CHAMBER

I'll admit, I was impressed with the musicianship on this album. I was impressed on how obviously talented musicians managed to make such dull and boring music. A common problem I have with a lot of progressive metal bands is that they all more or less sound like more boring versions of Dream Theater. Thought Chamber actually managed to get by that block by having a more technical metal influenced sound. And they proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it. The compositions are bland and boring, the soloing feels like random doodling, the lyrics aren't terribly interesting--it's just a bunch of uninspired blandness. That being said, it's well played blandness, and if you're looking for something like background music it can certainly be enjoyable, but frankly, this album isn't worth a focused listen.

I originally came across this band after hearing and falling in love with the song 'Transmigration of Souls', and upon finding out that their singer was none other than Enchant's Ted Leonard, I just knew I had to have this album.

One word: Wow.

After a two minute instrumental opening track, the song 'Sacred Treasure' completely blew me away, with its intro full of random guitar/keyboard/bass licks and solos, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So many instruments playing so many different things at once. Layer upon layer of interesting melodies and harmonies makes this an instant classic in my eyes.

The typical Prog Metal cliche is that this is very 'Dream Theater inspired', and whilst I'm not denying that, Thought Chamber have a very cool exotic style and mixture of elements which make this a truly unique group. The amazing playing and songwriting style could easily stand toe-to-toe against DT, and songs like 'Sacred Treasure', 'Balance of One', 'God of Oblique' or any of the instrumentals justify this.

At times Leonard's vocals seem a little thin for this style of music, but hey I'm not complaining, it still sounds awesome. In fact, there is nothing to complain about, this is one hell of a debut, and deserves a place in every Prog fans collection.

Thought Chamber is a new band of Arch Rival's guitaris Michel Harris. He gathere around him some great musicians like voclist from Enchant, drumer from defunct Eniac Requiem, so a good line up for prog metal. The music on this album entitled Angular perception from 2007 is very uptempo, with many odd twists and very strong musicianship. The conection with Enchant is inevitable when we have here Ted Leonard on voice from Enchant, but the music is much diffrent, more complex and is prog metal unlike his mother band who is more heavy prog with some pop elements here and there. Anyway Leonard did a great job here, showing he is capable to do other kind of vocal arrangements like in Enchant, here is more powerfull and even in places is more confident on his voice and his possiblities to explore more grounds. The main man of the band Harris is a great guitarist with many solo albums and many collaborations with other bands, besides his work with Arch Rival, he is the cherry on the cake on this album, some really intristing chops, great riffs and inteligent solos, made from this album to be a great discovery for prog metal fans. The drumer is excellent, he was aswell great in Eniac Requiem , so here is aswell a top notch musican. The music is very complex with some influences from Spastik Ink to Dream Theater in places, even some jazz fusion elements are there remind me of Anomaly (dutch prog metal band with jazz fusion elements) and even Gordian Knot. The resoult of this combination is outstanding, I was realy impressed by these musicins, very skilfull, very confident in their possibilities= a solid effort that worth every second. The best pieces are all, not a weak moment, all are very strong and shows how great this album is - specially on the three instrumental pieces, but the rest is also magnific. I will give 4 stars easely, among the best prog metal albums I've heared in years, recommended for sure.

If you're going to play derivative progressive-metal, you better do it like this.

When I first learned that ENCHANT's Ted Leonard was the singer of a progressive-metal band, I got scared. ENCHANT, while a good group, is not really metal, and I could never imagine Leonard's soft, pop-esque vocals in a true metallic atmosphere. I thought it was too thin, too cute, too un-metal.

The good thing is that he has proved me wrong. In THOUGHT CHAMBER, Leonard's performance is excellent, among the best of his career. The usual melodic vocals he chooses for ENCHANT are here, but we see now another side of his abilities: the ability to sing louder, to sing higher, to be able to front a much louder band. He succeeds almost completely. Just a few times during the album I got the idea that he was in stress trying to fit in with the music, but generally, he makes for a very good progressive-metal vocalist.

And now let's talk about the music: THOUGHT CHAMBER is a traditional progressive-metal band that plays in the same school of DREAM THEATER. Their music is mostly riff-based but they have great originality to come up with very interesting ones. The songs are longer than usual, with extended instrumental sections and three purely-instrumental tracks. The influences are varied, and we can even feel some jazz here and there, especially in the harmonies and bass lines. THOUGHT CHAMBER puts a lot of emphasis in interesting texturing work, with some moments in the album sounding like true counterpoint.

The music wouldn't be as good if it wasn't played with such amazing skills. Here we have a true outstanding set of performers, from the excellent, jazz-oriented drummer and bass player (who really shines throughout the album) to the impressive guitarist, Michael Harris, leader and mastermind of the band. This album is his idea and it shows, as it is the guitar the instrument which in the end outshines the others with the splendor of the solos and ornaments and the technical proficiency one can discover and enjoy.

At times, "Angular Perceptions" just lacks memorable choruses or melodies to be considered a true 5- star progressive-metal album. I was inclined after the first few songs to give this record the highest rating, as it's one of the best-played traditional prog-metal albums in existence, but after I listened to the whole thing, the impression it left in my mind was less strong. It's an excellent addition to any collection and therefore I give it 4 stars.

Another release from the usually reliable Inside Out Label.

It took me a while to track this one down and now that I have, I wish I hadn't bothered. Like too many so called prog metal bands the playing is top notch from all concerned. However, there isn't a single memorable tune on the whole thing and the keyboards? thin, weezy, nasty 80's style korg sounds that have been done to death by the likes of Jordan Rudess and Derek Sherinian for years. Even the involvement of Enchant's Ted Leonard cannot raise this one above 2 stars. A triumph of technique over content.

Kansas in Progressive Metal

By the time I am writing this review, I have been listening to this album inits entirety more than 10 times and the more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it. It's probably the music style is energetic (most of the songs), in the vein of progressive metal, and also it's quite complex, technical in nature. Michael Harris, the multi-talented musician majoring in guitar and composition, but also plays keyboard and vocal, is the mastermind behind all of the musical concept of this album. For those of you who have been familiar with another prog band Enchant, you can find the voice of its lead vocalist Ted Leonard. It's quite funny I find here that when I listened to the music of Enchant I did not realize that the voice of Ted is very (very!) similar with Steve Walsh of Kansas. I could only find here with Thought Chamber that similarity in voice. And I do not know why, listening to this stream of music by Thought Chambe creates a feeling of Kansas music in progressive metal style. This must have been due to the fact that the voice of Steve Walsh has embeded beautifully in Kansas music and it has become an integral part of any Kansas music.

Having said so, can't you imagine how happy I have been listening to the music of Thought Chamber due to the above facts. In fact, if the lead vocalist is not Kansas-like, say James LaBrie taking the role in vocal department, or Russel Allen of Symphony X, I still can enjoy the stream of music these gentlemen are delivering through "Angular Perceptions".

Why Liking this Album?

There are couple of reasons that I can summarize on why I like this album that probably would apply the same to you:

Technical Complexity Well. basically this is what most people expect whenever they are listening to what "supposed to be" a progressive music. And I have to admit that this album throughout all of the ten songs delivered here with this album are technically complex. If you are the kind of people in the school of thought that progressive music should be complex, this is it! This album is one hundred percent for you, because you can take any segment in the music and you would agree with me that there are so many acrobatic notes that really mind boggling. The first time I spun the CD I felt tired in the middle of the album, but with some more spins, it grew on me, steadily. Now, I get used to it with any complex pieces no matter how acrobatic the notes are in relatively fast speed manner.

The album starts wonderfully with an ambient keyboard work in "Premonition" (2:12) followed with jaw-dropping drumwork combined beautifully with stunning guitar fills. Keyboard still plays with guitar in intertwining fashion, bring the music into beautiful zone of complexity with symphonic flavor mostly produced by keyboard work. The complex arrangements then move into a break of acoustic guitar work that bridges the music into next track "Sacred Treasure" (7:07) featuring the vocal line while the opening track was just an instrumental. Bass guitar work is also excellent. There is also break with acoustic guitar during the transition to "Legend's Avalon" (5:48) and there is a long break during track 8 because the track ("Silent Shore" (3:40)) is basically a mellow one.

Harmony This subject is usually mixed up with melody because some people judge harmony on the basis of melody line which actually is different animal. For this album, I don't think the music is melodic (having a strong point in melody line) even though for me personally it's okay as well as being compensated appropriately with harmony and technical skills. Fortunately these songs contained in this album are all having excellent harmonies among instruments' sounds and notes produced by each instruments. In addition to that, the vocal melody delivered by Ted Leonard sits beautifully in the accompanying music. The result is an excellent harmony in terms of musical instruments as well as vocal line.

On first case, i.e. the instruments harmony you can enjoy nicely track 9 "Accidentally on Purpose" (4:53) which demonstrates a great example on what I mean. This is a full instrumental piece and it does not rely on melody as the music flows from start to end, rather it relies heavily on harmonies among keyboard, bass lines, guitars and drums. You can find each player is a virtuoso in their respective instrument. The bass guitar is very dynamic while the acrobatic drumming is also stunning and in most of transition pieces I am amazed with the style. The drumming style is in the vein of Mark Zonder (spelling?) of Fates Warning, I believe. Guitar virtuosity of Harris is no question. It all add up into beautiful harmony, and so beautiful music.

On the second case, you can take any example from all songs with vocal line. Take for example "Transmigration of Souls" you can segregate the music from vocal and find out great harmony. But our focus is now on how vocal has blended into the music. As the music flows I can see great Ted Leonard vocal embeds into the music and it has become the integral part of the music that you can not segregate anymore, it unites nicely and naturally. Imagine replacing the vocal with guitar or keybord! It's hard that you can enjoy it, because it becomes disintegrated.

Energetic>. If you like the heavy side of progressive rock, this music is dedicated for you because most of the compositions are heavy in rhythm section and acrobatic in nature. Of course there are breaks in between songs and also one mellow song, but the rest is energetic.

Why Not Liking This Album?

I don't know any reason for not liking this album unless you do not progressive metal music because the songs contained here in this album is excellent and strong in songwriting, tight composition. In fact, if you like technical mastery of guitar or keyboard, you can also enjoy this album. Well, if you only enjoy neo progressive music and do not want to explore your music boundaries, I guarantee you will suffer enjoying this kind of music.

Conclusion

Having explored this album in great details, even though I do not write on track by track basis, it's very easy to summarize this album as an excellent addition to any progressive music collection. Fans of Kansas might be favored knowing that the music is somewhat Kansas played in progressive metal style. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Promising debut album from this self-coined supergroup.

Excellent musicianship is the dominant feature on this album, especially experienced axeman Michael Harris use the opportunity to showcase his instrumental prowess on this release, but the other members of the band get their chances of conveying technical brilliance throughout this release too. And the vocals of Enchant vocalist Ted Leonard are excellent in a Dream Theater kind of way.

What's lacking are really good songs though. Lots of instrumental showcasing here, but not too many songs as such; as the compositions seems to be pieces assembled rather than songs composed.

Worth checking out by fans of technical metal with progressive elements, and should be loved by people of the opinion that Dream Theater don't showcase their technical abilities as much as they should.

Thought Chamber debut album Angular Perceptions is prog metal in the Dream Theater vein. Lots of tempo and time signature changes, melodic vocals and outstanding musicians. Only problem is that we´ve heard it all before both better and worse. When I started listening to the album I was sure that this would be a 4 star album, but I have changed my mind after a couple of listens. This is really a 3 star album, not that it is mediocre, but as I mentioned before we´ve heard it all before and midway through the album I get bored with the style and the riffs get generic in my ears.

The musicians are outstanding throughout the album even though I have never heard of any of them before. That´s except for Ted Leonard from Enchant who does a great job here, putting his voice to full use. He sounds better here than he did on the last couple of releases from Enchant. Maybe he believes more in this band ?

Well I used to be very much into this style of music, but my interrest has cooled over the years, and maybe this is the reason for my 3 stars. It is an impressive album, just not my prefered style.

This is some catchy prog metal. Not the most original stuff, very Dream Theater influenced but the compositions are very strong. Sacred Treasure, Transmigration of Souls, and Gods of Oblique are especially strong, the latter being extremely catchy. Recomended to prog metal fans basically.

I bought this one because of the Enchant connection but also because I liked the tracks on their MySpace page (very useful feature of MySpace that). Anyway, I liked what I heard and wanted more. And more is what I got.

This is a very good album if a bit over-complex in places. I like that sort of thing which would make this a four star release for me. However, with the broader populace in mind I'll give it 3 and suggest you check it out if you really like your prog-metal with a jazz/fusion flavour.

Oh, yeah, Ted Leonard does a fantastic job with the vocals, just as he does for Enchant!