LIGHT OF DAY, DAY OF DARKNESS

When i first heard of this album, one thing was running through my mind: an entire album of progressive metal? This is probably better than sex!

When i first ran it through on my iPod on a very long train journey to Glasgow, two things were running through my head: god damn this is a long train, and jesus this IS better than sex.

The second and thrid time i listened to this album my opinion of it gradually deterierated. Yeah, it is truly amazing what these guys have come out with here: a sixty minute metal tune that never gets boring and is very creative. However, there are a few things that let it down slightly: first off, the vocals. They are very bland in comparison with let's say Opeth or VDGG, but you can still bare them. Next off, it CAN get a little repetitive. I'm not too keen on the chord sequences in the section from 10 minutes - 20 minutes; they all seem rather generic. On the good side though, extremely good musicianship, tasteful guitarwork, phenomenal drumming, clever keyboard use and oh my GOD! The male choir! It sounds astonishing when weaved into the heavy works of Green Carnation, and i love it! I also love the girl's voice at about 30 minutes, on contrary to some of the previous comments - very nice indeed.

Now onto some technical analysis. The opener is fantastic and very progressive, even in comparison with some of the masterful progressions on this site e.g. Echoes. I find this bit very Floydian and a great listen. When the distorted guitars finally kick in with some really special vocal lines, your average prog metal fan is in heaven. It then goes through a lot of flowing rhythmical changes until the 20 minute mark, that of which include 7/4, 3/4 and 5/4 time signatures, tempo changes galore and a few cheeky half time sections. It then gets Floydian once again past the 20 minute mark and once again we are re-introduced to the metal vein.

At approx. 30 minutes, it starts to get interesting. The band stops abrubtly and we are introduced to a mysterious Bangra-esque violin, drone and female vox section that is, IMHO, the best section of the song. Beautiful, you have to listen to it yourself truly, and it is what the album/song is all about. At about 40 minutes we are brought gently into the metal heart of GC with a once again Floydian progression, first guitar, then bass, then drums and almost immediately after, a blistering overdriven solo that gets me every time. This part really takes the song to epic proportions. The keyboards are used very tastefully and the chord sequence is also a big step up from some of the previous in the track.

At almost the 50th minute we are brought into the final post-metal section of the song, and what away to finish! A few of the previous themes are used here and to great effect, once again elevating the epicity. The male choir are at their peak in the 10/4 part, and it is one of the highlights of the album, and i really haven't got a bad word to say about this section of this great exciting song. The experimentation is brought to a new level here, where the Bangra theme is brought back once again, along with the female vox and what appears to be a backing tabla (?). Nonetheless, the finale is really something, and bring the song to fantastic closure when one of the riffs from the first 10 minutes returns with a triumphant metal fist.

The only criticism i have with the ending, is that they seem really quite desperate to make the hour mark and really drag on the chimes for the last 2 minutes or so.

A really groundbreaking and fantastic album regardless of its flaws i.e. the vocals (bar the choir and the girl), repetitive chord sequences, final 2 minutes or so of chimes... 4 stars from me, and excellent album and a must have for any prog metal fan.

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