THE ART OF LOSS

Redemption plays prog metal that is bombastic and emotionally intense. Like Dream Theater without the quirks or stylistic detours of the more adventurous prog metal bands, though they are not beneath pop sensibilities. Redemption's about crunchy riffs, cheesy synths, sing-along choruses and the manly voice of Ray Alder, which distinguishes them among similar bands but with high-pitched vocalists. As the themes of their albums mainly revolve around human psychology, I'd say this is about 90 percent tension and 10 percent release. At Redemption's longest, the 70-minute plus of this stuff may seem a bit overwhelming and monotonous, so the guys spice things up with gazillions of shredding, courtesy of the bandwagon of guest guitarists. In short, Redemption doesn't break new ground, but the Art of Loss is better than This Mortal Coil and is one of their most enjoyable releases.