EDGE OF THORNS

I'll say from the get-go: NO. This is not really progressive music, by any means. This is very well- crafted, intelligent heavy metal with pianos and very good melodies, plus excellent musicianship of all parts involved. But other than that, neither the usual elements of the narrow definition of progressive- metal nor the more form-related ones that informed most progressive-rock are here to be found.

This is heavy metal crafted after QUEENSRYCHE. If you've ever heard that band's superb "Operation: Mindcrime", then you'll have a decent idea of what this record sounds like. Good riffs, thunderous, empty drums, pianos used not only as background but in some important part of songs, and loud, soaring vocals that overpower anything that dares to defy them.

The music has a certain majestic tone to it. It sounds full of grandeur, full of elegance. Probably, that's why many people called this and other albums "progressive metal". After all, the metal genre was not really a darling of the mainstream media, and any kind of metal that sounded elegant or highly- polished must have been "progressive" for some people.

But musically, the progressive-link is weak. Sure, melodies are great and there are some instrumental passages and new ideas, but they're so unimportant in comparison to the main musical body which is made of plain heavy metal, that this record barely fits the description (if we can find one).

Nevertheless, "Edge of Thorns" is a much more accomplished album than "Hail of the Mountain King" (the previous one I reviewed) and it should be an addition for any metal fan's collection. In the progressive scale, it gets a 2.5. As a metal album, it gets a 4.5. We'll average this as a 4, as the quality of the music overcomes its lack of progressiveness.

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