BURN THE SUN

Absolutely fabulous prog-metal (a subgenre I generally don't enjoy), which actually deserves another half star. With traces of Rush and Metallica - and lots of Whitesnake (think "Still of the Night") - Ark shows what a number of bands might have sounded like had they followed progressive paths, including Foreigner (I Bleed, Missing You), GNR (Burn The Sun, Noose), Journey (Resurrection, Waking Hour, Feed the Fire), and even Zep (Absolute Zero). In the process, vocalist Jorn Lande does wonderful, and largely natural, imitations of Lou Gramm, Steve Perry, Axl Rose and David Coverdale (with a little Robert Plant thrown in). / The album starts off with "Heal The Waters," a powerful Rush-style metal-prog composition. Continuing the onslaught is "Torn" (with interesting traces of Marillion), followed by "Burn the Sun," a solid GNR-like song. The quasi-ballad "Resurrection" is not quite as successful. "Absolute Zero" brings the band back in a relentless (but excellent) way, evoking where Zep might have gone had they gone the way of "Kashmir" and other PG-era semi-prog. "Just A Little" has some amazing guitar work, beginning in a "spanish" flavor and then moving into a more classic "prog" sound; if memory serves, this was actually something of a "hit" for the band. The remainder of the album ranges from good to very good, with "Missing You" having a distinct Floydian flavor to it. The lyrics center primarily on an environmental theme, with both science and "religion" mixed in: all are thoughtful, some "deeper" than others. Interestingly, the drummer is included in the writing credits for all compositions - deservedly so, given that he is among the best, most creative metal drummers I've ever heard. / Overall, I found this album highly listenable, and strangely compelling. To quote Peter Rideout from a different review: this is prog-rock with the accent on "rock" - and boy can these guys rock!