THE BOOK OF FLIGHT

Listening to Book of Flight was one of those experiences where my opinions on the album were constantly evolving and changing. "The Ascent" starts off with a very strong symphonic/neo-prog approach on a large scope, but what starts off as really awesome at some point in the track starts to get a bit redundant and it feels like the composition is not offering anything fresh or at least any moments that wow us. For the next couple of songs it's a lot of the same, but then all of a sudden, about half way through the album the sound dramatically changes; it goes from a symphonic approach to a very modern almost Pain of Salvation kind of sound, but in my opinion, not in a good way. The vocal style feels very forced and the modern pseudo prog-metal elements aren't quite strong enough. That said, the end of the album starts to head in a good direction with "The Descent," featuring cool synth and piano elements, and then finishing off strong with "The Great Machine," which is what I consider to be the most consistent and interesting composition on the album, starting from a basic point that the melodies are memorable and the song combines both symphonic and modern elements in fun ways, primarily the manner in which the organ meets the rhythmic guitars. Overall, Book of Flight is a mixed bag, going from good to monotonous, then to bad but ending great. I'd recommend checking this one out and deciding for yourself; I see it as being an album that could potentially draw polarizing opinions. On a side note, I absolutely loved the artwork, which made me think of a space opera version of some of Miyazaki's steampunk flying ships.