SUN CAGED

Stylistically Sun Caged continues the "classic" progressive metal style they also played on the two preceding album releases (and in their pre-Sun Caged act Lemur Voice). This is not a band shaking on their hands in terms of songwriting and the direction of their music. While the fast-paced almost death metal like drumming and riffing which occur a couple of times during the opening track "Seamripper & the Blanket Statement", may confuse a few listener´s and have them believe that Sun Caged have turned brutal, nothing could be further from the truth. This is as mentioned still "classic" progressive metal with Dream Theater and Enchant standing out as the greatest influences on Sun Caged music. Sun Caged can be nicely heavy when they set their minds to it, but there are just as many mellow, epic, and melodic sections on the album.

Compared to "Artemisia", it´s great to hear that Sun Caged are back on track with "The Lotus Effect". "Artemisia" was overall not a bad quality recording, but it did feature a sub par production job, which made it a bit hard to listen to. That is fortunately not the case with "The Lotus Effect" which features a massive, heavy, powerful, and detailed sound production, which perfectly suits the material.

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts and Sun Caged are arguably an incredibly well playing act. Lead vocalist Paul Adrian Villarreal has a strong voice and hits the high notes with ease as well as performing more "regular" register vocals with passion and conviction too. The instrumental performances are also strong. Massive and heavy guitar riffs and rhythms, time-signature changes and blistering lead guitar and keyboard runs, are just some of the ingredients of the band´s sound.

"The Lotus Effect" contains seven individual tracks and the longer epic "Ashtamangala the 8 Auspicious Symbols", which is subdivided into seven tracks. At 71:59 it´s a pretty long album, but Sun Caged have managed to write a powerful and engaging release, which means the long playing time is justified. To my ears "The Lotus Effect" is (at least up until then) Sun Caged´s strongest and most varied album, and they deserve some recognition for this release. The thought crossed my mind that the sub par quality of "Artemisia" was a sign that Sun Caged had lowered their ambitions, but thankfully my ponderings and doubts are proven wrong here. "The Lotus Effect" is through and through a high quality progressive metal album and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

So it´s still Dream Theater and Enchant, who are the greatest influences on Sun Caged. It´s all well composed, well performed and highly professional, but compared to the debut album there´s something off about the sound production on "Artemisia". The sound lacks warmth and bottom end heaviness, and it sometimes sounds like you´re listening to the album through a door or a closed window. It´s not a murky sounding production, but it sounds distant (if that makes sense). It´s a real shame that the production values end up having so much impact on the listening experience because as mentioned there´s nothing wrong with the music or the performances, which are high quality through and through. Sharp and heavy riffs, blistering melodic lead guitar playing, intricate rhythms, well played keyboards, and a strong lead vocalist in front, who can sing both regular and high pitched registers and sound convincing performing both.

So while "Artemisia" is a slight disappointment because of the sound production, which could arguably have been better sounding, it´s still a good quality progressive metal release in most other departments, and fans of artists like Dream Theater and Enchant (actually fans of something in between those two artists) should be able to find lots to appreciate here. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

The Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One) mixed affair features a powerful and well sounding production job, which makes this debut album a real treat in terms of production values. Stylistically this is Dream Theater influenced progressive metal with a touch of Enchant. The album is loaded with heavy riffs, time-signature changes, blistering lead guitar and keyboard work, clever and sophisticated drumming and bass performances, and a powerful and skilled vocalist in front. Lead vocalist Andre Vuurboom has a voice which isn´t far from the voice of James LaBrie (Dream Theater) but also with a touch of Ted Leonard (Enchant, Thought Chamber, Spock's Beard). The latter is arguably also an influence when it comes to the melody lines.

So while Sun Caged won´t win many uniqueness competitions, they are still a highly professional and skilled act, who compose intriguing, memorable, and powerful progressive metal and fans of this type of progressive metal should definitely investigate this album further. The high level musicianship from both the instrumentalists and from Vuurboom is inpeccable and a great asset. You´ll find new interesting songwriting ideas all the time, but the band also rock pretty hard, so this never becomes boring or too artsy. In other words there is a good balance between sophisticated technical playing, melodic elements, and heavy and hard rocking sections. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

my favorite songs on this album are ashes to earn, shades of hades, and fish afraid of drowning. These songs really show the evolution in the people in the band growing as musicians and their increasing potential for greater things in the future.

the singer out did himself on the melodies for the verses and choruses on...well every single song melodies that will be stuck in your head in that good way that only sun caged can do

check it out

-stephen maes

Sure, melody is not everything - you could go for technicality or atmosphere. Few bands manage to handle both equally well - that's why Dreamtheater, love 'em or hate 'em, are the standard by which this kind of prog metal is measured. Sun Caged, I think, still follows the "melody plus accesible technicality" approach, but comes out a bit bland. An example of what I mean. Italian band Odd Dimension also treads the familiar 8-minute prog path, but imbues it with Rhapsody-like over-the-top ness, especially in vocals, making it sound fun as well as technical. Infuses prog metal, which has been growing stale the past years, with energy.

But song titles are nice, I'll give them that. maybe because singer is the lone English-native speaker. Tip-toe the Fault-Line. Genius. And the actual tip-toeing with the low-register keys in the beginning is cool too.

In my view, Sun Caged is not the first tier. They are certainly competent, but the best description I can come up with is, well, OK. Lyre's harmony has an OK intro, making me think, well, I will listen to this. A Fair Trade is an OK melodic song, they are some good choruses and bass lines here and there (instrumental credits list a fretlss bass). The sound is thinner and solos are fewer than average for prog metal, keys are more of an atmospheric backdrop. Singer has a melodic voice, well suited for pop-rock, but not powerful enough for metal. Perhaps accordingly, the tempo is mostly slow-to-mid. In short, nothing here stands out. There are no moments here that make me think, what a groovy riff, or, what an unexpected twist. Departing Words does have a ragtime-space guitar-Indian music-xylophone instrumental sequence, which is unfortunately book-ended by a bizarre "robotic woman" vocal sample and all too obviously inspired by Dreamtheater sound experiments. OK, but not essential.

My personal favorites are "Shades of Hades" and "The 8 Auspicious Symbols" (the last 8 tracks on this album which are actually a 24 minute song). Every song---and I mean every---on this album is a master work. I especially love how the vocalist pieces together the lyrics----just expert in every sense of the word. I'm also a big fan of the keyboards, especially in track "Pareidolized".

I have read some reviews that claim that the music in the first few tracks is jumbled or incoherent, but I am not quite sure what they mean. This is a progressive metal album, and if the heaviness is too much (though it isn't that heavy), I suggest one should switch genres. The first track, "Seamripper" features some amazing drum work that could be a little overbearing, but the melody of the music and the vocals easily balances this. As it is, this album features a myriad of tempo changes, harmonizing vocals, crunching guitars as well as well-done solos, audible rhythmic bass, and keyboards that provide an amazing atmosphere and vibe. Add to this a brainy theme of using scientific terms to discuss human mortality and depravity, and you have an album that deserves some recognition.