THE DARK THIRD

The Dark Third manages to do something very few albums accomplish. Like a good novel it has the ability to pull you away from reality's grip and into Pure Reason Revolution's own little dream world subject to the manipulations of the band. Never once while listening to this album do I realize I'm laying in bed with headphones on or even listening to music at all. An experience, rather than music, would be a better way to describe the wonders contained here

The vocal harmonies are what instantly grabbed me on this release, and more than anything they keep me returning. The leading male and female voices amalgamate in such a way to create a vocal track worthy of listening to itself. They also do a rare task in being instantly acceptable and digestible, yet not losing their impact after repeated listening. "Bright Ambassadors of Morning" (wearing Pink Floyd influences on their sleeve huh?) showcases this beautifully, and ranks up there with the best vocal harmonies.

Musically the album impresses without trying to, or rather, there's no mind-blowing complexity, extended solo spots, etc. trying to gain your interest, the music just does. Pink Floyd influences are apparent, but I would say are not as strong as other reviewers or the band themselves would have you believe. They attain a very modern sound, and even appear to draw some influence from the Indie scene. There's a healthy distribution of atmospheric tracks and more energetic numbers, but the entire time the band remains strongly melodic even when dealing with more metal sound.

I see a very bright future for this band, and personally I feel this to be the nearly strongest of the releases I've heard in 2006. However, they seem to be somewhat flying under the radar, and I hope this review plays a part in changing that fact.