DWELLING IN THE OUT

This is a dark, heavy, atmospheric and somewhat muddy sounding release. The lyrics are about the thoughts of different people who suffering emotionally. We hear their anger, fears, desperation and defiance. The music itself reminds me a little of FATES WARNING at their heaviest, while the vocalist's tone is similar to James LaBrie from DREAM THEATER but his singing isn't as good and he seems to be down in the mix. This album is relentless in it's heaviness and rawness.

"Living For Yesterday" features some synths in the intro as heavy riffs come thundering in. Vocals after a minute. We get a calm 3 minutes in as the guitar plays a laidback solo. Emotional vocals follow. The heaviness returns 4 1/2 minutes in and gets even heavier. A ticking clock ends it. "Darkest Day" opens with a killer guitar riff. This is heavy !Synths and vocals before a minute. A ripping guitar solo after 3 minutes. "Dwelling In The Out" opens with slow, heavy riffs before vocals arrive. This song is about the emotional pain that is felt and endured when a lover leaves.The slow sludgey passages are contrasted with the not so heavy(still heavy) sections where the guitar really grinds it out. Guitar solo 4 1/2 minutes in is a highlight. "The Forgotten" opens with gun fire as this song is about the casualties of war(the forgotten). There are spoken words in this one as the guitar riffs and heavy drums light it up. A calm with reserved vocals after 2 minutes. The sound is crushing and the vocals are emotional pleading "Remember me... " I love the calm that returns again to end it. Fantastic tune ! "Adrift" opens with a catchy beat with lots of atmosphere. Reserved vocals arrive. Heaviness comes in as the sound builds. Synths on the chorus. It lightens before heaviness returns 4 minutes in.

"Night Falls Forever" opens with piano as heavy riffs come and go. Vocals come in softly as piano continues.That all changes as the TOOL-like drumming comes in with passionate vocals and riffs.The heaviness is here to stay. A blistering guitar solo 5 minutes in. "Machine Cage" is a science fiction based song. Synths swirl as a heavy undercurrent of bass, guitar and drums rumble and riff. A surprisingly tasteful guitar solo 3 minutes in. Nice. Love the raw guitar solo that follows. "Letting Go" features relentless and punishing riffs. Synths and vocals join in.They step it up a bit 3 1/2 minutes in. "The Agony Column" opens with some atmosphere before some nice heavy riffs come in. Vocals follow. This might be the best vocal performance on the whole disc. The chorus isn't as heavy and it really sounds good. Guitar solo after 3 minutes and the song gets heavier a minute later. "Along The Way" is the final and longest track on the album. It moves at a fairly slow pace. It opens with piano as vocals and heaviness soon arrive. The vocals and riffs are outstanding 2 minutes in. There are some vocal samples in this one as well 4 minutes and 5 1/2 minutes in. In between we get a screaming guitar solo.

Stay away if your depressed ! This is a dirty, raw and heavy release. 3.5 stars.