REBUILDING THE RUINS

Images of Eden has been silently making waves in the underground U.S. progressive metal scene for quite some time now, and Rebuilding the Ruins is now their third album. What was once upon a time a one-man act is now a full-blown band with plenty of assets to win over a new legion of prog metal fans. Rebuilding the Ruins is a very strong album from beginning to end, and, although it suffers from a few genre clichés, it's an impressive effort from this American quartet. People who've enjoyed the band's previous outings, or enjoy traditional prog metal in general, should definitely check this one out. These guys wear their influences on their sleeve, but they wear them proudly, and have delivered a killer third album here.

Rebuilding the Ruins is progressive metal played in the old-school U.S. style. Obvious points of reference are bands like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Queensrÿche, or Psychotic Waltz. As such, this isn't the most revolutionary formula out there, but the delivery and compositional prowess of Images of Eden is enough to make up for their somewhat derivative approach. The compositions are generally very memorable, the musicianship is professional, and the sheer emotion they inject into their music is impressive in itself. Just listen to songs like "Children of Autumn" or "Sunlight Of The Spirit Part IV- Images Of Eden" and you'll understand how this band puts their heart and soul into every note they play. My biggest issue here is ultimately the playing time, which almost reaches the 74 minute mark. Although there's plenty of variation to keep me entertained, I could see Rebuilding the Ruins benefiting greatly from a shorter length (somewhere in the 45-50 minute range maybe). The production is also, while not crippling, slightly under par. It sounds professional, but almost "low-budget" in a sense. That's not a huge complaint from me, though - production like this doesn't hurt my listening experience in any way.

Rebuilding the Ruins is a great album by Images of Eden that I would strongly advise fans of American-sounding progressive metal to take a listen to. There are enough memorable hooks, breathtaking instrumental runs, and interesting compositions to keep me coming back for more and more. If you're a fan of Fates Warning and Dream Theater, checking out this album will be a mandatory benchmark for 2011. I'll go with 3.5 stars here - Images of Eden has created some standout material that's surely worth looking into.