ARTIFICIAL PARADISE

Sylvan's Artificial Paradise reminds me, at points, of what Dream Theater might sound like if they stripped the metal aspects out of their music and replaced them with melodic rock bits. The sound that results is appealing enough, though I'm inclined to agree with aapatsos that the album flags a bit in the middle - I do wish more bands would have the courage to edit down their work a bit, and learn that 40 minutes of great music is far better than 70 minutes of merely OK music. Still, fans of bombastic vocals and the more straightforward sort of neo-prog will find something to enjoy here.