ANASTASIS

After a long break, DCD return with the two main players/performers still true to form, almost as if they never took a break. This seems to me to be a more mature work. The tracks are also completely fleshed out, there are no short compositions here. The shortest one is Opium at almost six minutes. Because of this, the entire album does not seem as choppy as others. However, the overall effect from this results in a more "same-y" feel than in past albums. This is not a big negative for the album though. There seems to be a little more safeness to the tracks also. The progressiveness has been toned down somewhat throughout this recording, however, the beautiful orchestration on this makes up for that. When you listen to this, there is no doubt as to who you are listening to. I have to agree with the other reviewers here, that it seems this is a slight step back from their previous progressiveness. But, I would encourage fans to get this album because you will still love it, there are still some wonderful highlights here, especially in the last two tracks. In "Return of the She-King", Lisa's vocals seem a lot fuller and it works well for that track. Brendan's vocals in "All in Good Time" are some of the most soulful I have heard from him for quite a while. Beautiful and simple describes the last track, but not simple boring, not at all. Simple yet expressive and complex in it's own right. Definitely an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection, but not quite at that "essential" rating. Welcome back DCD, you've been missed. May there be many more albums to come!