MEMOIRS OF A BROKEN MAN

3.5 stars. FUTURES END came about when the two lead guitarists (Christian Wentz & Marc Pattison) decided to do a musical project together.They added Fred Marshall which is why I became interested in this album to begin with, knowing him as the vocalist on ZERO HOUR's "A Fragile Mind" album. Steve DiGiorgio (bass) came on along with Jon Allen (drums). So an all-star cast to be sure with some guest vocals from Lance King and Lucho Silva. Wentz also plays piano and keyboards while Pattison adds keyboard programming and sequecing. For me the music is fairly similar to ZERO HOUR at times, not quite as heavy overall though.This is a concept album and the story is detailed at length in the liner notes. It's about a soldier who returns home with his friend from war, the only two from the unit to survive. He has a terrible drinking problem which causes his woman to leave and his friend ends up committing suicide. It's obviously a dark subject but the silver lining is that our subject struggles back to his feet and forgives himself to actually "live" once again.

"Relentless Chaos" opens with atmosphere and I like the narration to start as our subject describes the experience of war and the rage he feels as he heads home.The dam was about to break.The music kicks in with that twin gutiar attack and heavy drums. Oh yeah ! The vocals spit out the lyrics. Some crazy synths at times on this one. A great uptempo track. "Inner Self" opens with heavy drums and background synths. Nice. It kicks in at a minute with the guitars buzzing.Vocals before 2 minutes. It settles 4 minutes in with atmosphere,drums then vocals. It kicks back in a minute later.Some killer guitar here. "Endless Journey" opens with guitar as the drums and bass kick in heavily and vocals follow.Great sound here. Check out the bass after 1 1/2 minutes. Love the overlapping vocals too. Amazing guitar show before 3 1/2 minutes.

"Your Decay" opens with outbursts of heaviness that come and go then it settles in with vocals. A calm with reserved vocals 2 minutes in. Ripping guitar follows when it kicks back in. It ends with deep atmosphere and the sound of his friend getting shot (suicide). "Beyond Despair" is almost ballad-like with acoustic guitars and reserved vocals.This is surprisingly good for that style. "Share The Blame" opens with orchestral synths as the sound builds. It's built ! Vocals join in. I like the guitar / drum section 4 minutes in. "Forsaken" opens with narration then it kicks in quickly.Great sound ! Nice guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in.

"Stand To Fall" is heavy with vocals a minute in. A calm with acoustic guitar before 2 1/2 minutes and vocals join in. It's building before 4 minutes. "Terrors Of War" opens with lots and lots of gun fire before the guitar and drums take over.Vocals after 1 1/2 minutes. I like the guitar solo before 6 minutes. "Remembering Tomorrow" opens with heavy bass and drums and the tempo picks up. Vocals as it settles back some. Guitar comes in after 2 1/2 minutes. Nice.There is a bonus track which is a cover of IRON MAIDEN's "Powerslave".This is the best MAIDEN cover I have ever heard. Absolutley smoking !

I wasn't blown away by this record but it's certainly worth checking out if your into Prog-Metal.