MOONBABIES

When Derek Sherinian formed this band he stated that he wanted to be the sickest instrumental band on the planet, and it is apparent on the Planet X releases that he is attempting to do so, whether successfully or not so is up to the listener. Moonbabies, though in the jazz/fusion sub genre, seems to lean a lot towards progressive metal, with jazz elements such as odd chord changes being used. The only moment it really seems like they are playing true jazz is the intro to The Noble Savage. Musically, this is an extremely technical instrumental album, with lots of time changes and shredding type solos. Each musician is one of the best in their field, and they bring a variety of sounds to the band. Sherinian likes to do atmospheric parts and his solos are often in the fashion of a guitar, Tony MacAlpine is one of the best guitar shredders out there, and has a unique neoclassical/jazz type style, and Virgil Donati is just a monster behind the drum kit, making so many of these odd times sound natural. All of the songs are solid, although I don't know if any really stands out as a top track for me (if I had to pick it would probably be Ignotius Per Ignotium), and there's not too much variation between the songs in terms of style, and because of that I'm only giving it four stars.