THE GIFT OF AWARENESS

P.A.W.N. are a band out of Hamburg, Germany and they pretty much did it all on this album including the mixing, mastering and production. I can appreciate the difficulty of knowing what sub-genre to put them in as they come across to my ears as a Prog-Metal(drums and heaviness) and Symphonic(vocals and orchestration) hybrid. The positives for me are the art work, lyrics and the title of the album all of which are connected. Nothing like seeing the beauty of God in his creation. The negatives for me are mainly the vocals. Now the lady can sing, i'm just not that into them while the male vocals are just not good at all in my opinion. I would also mention that I have a hard time separating out the guitar and bass most of the time on this record while the drums are very upfront but i'm not complaining about the drums because the guy is very, very good. Lastly at over 78 minutes it would have been a double album back in the day and it's tough making a consistently good album over that length of time.

"Sailors Of The Sky" is my favourite song on here. It opens with piano before eventually kicking in hard after 1 1/2 minutes. Heavy stuff and I like it. Female vocals a minute later as it settles back some. The strings are a nice touch and this album has plenty of them. I like the instrumental section 5 1/2 minutes in then it turns heavy again around the 7 minute mark as the mood and tempo continue to shift. I like the guitar late. "The Princess Is Out Tonight" opens with strings and atmosphere before it kicks into gear. Male vocals after a minute but female vocals arrive as well. The drums dominate late to end it. "A Voyage Of Uncertainty" opens with church bells before strings and piano arrive then male vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. I'm not really into this one and we do get female vocals and what sounds like harpsichord. "Vessels" opens heavily but then is replaced with a calm as female vocals, piano and strings join in. Drums follow then we get an instrumental section with lots of strings before the vocals return. An okay tune although I really like the last 2 minutes.

"Fatal Wounds" sounds great with that heavy 2 minute intro although it stays fairly heavy for much of this track. The male vocals after 2 minutes are not good at all but we get female vocals as well. I like the heaviness on this one a lot, the male vocals, not so much. "The Gift Of Awareness" is the closing 26 minute ride. Piano and strings to start then it kicks in hard after 1 1/2 minutes reminding me of how the opening song began. A calm with female vocals, piano and strings as contrasts will continue between the heaviness and more laid back passages. Some cool sections here like the one after 10 1/2 minutes with light drums(for a change) female vocals and strings. Keys and atmosphere follow. The male vocals that follow aren't so cool but check out the swirling synths. A nice keyboard section 16 1/2 minutes in then a fairly uplifting section after 18 1/2 minutes but then the male vocals return.

A mixed bag for me for sure and there's just not enough enjoyment for me to offer up the fourth star. A talented band that I hope will bring us more music in the future. Thanks Dennis!