THE PROBLEM OF PAIN: PART 1

Allowing time for certain controversies to settle down, and letting the wrath of internet community go away, I'm listening to this album as open-minded as I can be. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it doesn't matter - let's talk about the music.

The first and the foremost - this album is nothing to die for, but it's not bad as I expected it to be. The overall sound is mildly progressive, less because the structure and more because the concept. It resembles 80's metal quite a bit (for some reason, RUNNING WILD springs to my mind), but, as a metal team collab well pointed out, it's not metal actually. It's more hard rock (even alter rock at moments) with some metal approach melody-wise (vocals and guitars). There are also a few digital keyboards tapestries (appearing suddenly, occasionally and, on my opinion, unnecessary) and a few acoustic parts (like in short and lovely 'Job's Contenplation'). The vocals are thin and washed-out, but not the worst I heard from that category. And I'm giving them credit for multi-vocal harmonies - not too daring, complex or special, but a good job of multilayering done, given that harmonies are quite simple. Speaking of multilayering, that's the best ingredient of this album -- overlayered guitars. I'll do a sacriledge and say they remind me a bit of QUEEN circa 1972-1975; but that's only timbre-wise, not songwriting wise.

The major problem with music on this album is, again, rooted in guitars who are carrying the bases for each of the songs' structures. I'm talking about the repetitiveness. All the songs are based around more-or-less same riffs, power chord patterns (there are slight variations of three main themes if I'm not much mistaken), and solos are almost exclusively following one, similar pattern, or should I say scale, that can be heard exactly the same in MOSTLY AUTUMN's 'Pass The Clock'. Of course, there's nothing wrong in utilizing the main theme that will be repated in different movements within a conceptual piece, but this is a bit too much. If this entire concept was record as an EP, or even beter, a longish song, it would be way better. For an album length this is a bit too much. And mind you, this album is of a LP size, not a CD one. Talk about a lack of inspiration.

I won't touch the issue of lyrics and religious theme - I'm simply not competent to talk about it. Let's just say that preaching mantras turned out to be much less annoying than I expected. I still think the major issue of this album is in it's structure, composition, musicality. On a sidenote, I haven't noticed any off-key guitar solo (although multiple layers were a bit too much at the moments), just a few slightly out of synch tempo issues.

Two and a half stars, not rounded to three, which is a rating deserved for a way better prog outputs. This band could actually came up with something more than decent, if only happens they became more daring in musical department at first place. Which could be said for a thousands of artists surrounding us.

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