THE JOURNEY INTO

3.5 stars. This one does not hit the heights that their next one "Subconcious" reaches, but this it's still an enjoyable in my opinion. I would compare thier sound to latter day SHADOW GALLERY or DREAM THEATER. I should also mention the sound is crystal clear, excellent production.

The album kicks off with "Pawn" and talk about making an entrance ! Short outbursts of bass, guitar and drums are very impressive. The song starts to build. Some killer guitar with background synths. Vocals after 2 minutes. Chunky riffs 4 1/2 minutes in. Some grinding guitar melodies 6 minutes in. "Vantage Point" opens with over 2 1/2 minutes of outstanding instrumental work before it settles down with vocals and piano. Drums arrive a minute later. They're kicking ass again 4 1/2 minutes in as the contrasts continue throughout, with some variations of course. "Plains Of Remembrance" opens with some great drumming. Outbursts of heavy guitar and not so heavy synths follow before we get a blazing guitar solo. I'm reminded of RUSH before the song calms down before 3 minutes. Piano, vocals and light drums lead the way in this mellow section. The tempo picks up 5 minutes in with a tasteful and then not so tasteful guitar solo. Haha. Heavy riffs after 7 minutes. Check out the quick tempo shifts. It's riff city 10 minutes in. Strummed guitar before 12 minutes as it calms down again with vocals. A nice long guitar solo after 14 minutes. Nice. An excellent tune.

"The Circle Breaks" opens with acoustic guitar with reserved vocals joining in.The lyrics are meaningful and the song becomes more powerful when the drums come in. "Not My Time" brings us back to the heaviness with some fantastic guitar. Synths are swirling 2 1/2 minutes in. Check out the guitar a minute later. I love the drumming after 5 minutes. The title track "The Journey Into" is almost 27 minutes long. It's divided into 6 parts. It opens with tastefully strummed guitar before piano joins in a couple of minutes later. A change before 3 minutes as vocals and aggressive guitar arrive.TOOL-like drumming 4 1/2 minutes in as guitar grinds away and piano plays on. An excellent guitar solo 6 minutes in. A calm 10 minutes in as vocals and acoustic guitar lead the way. Some extreme heaviness comes crushing in 13 1/2 minutes in. Vocals a minute later. Lots of swagger 16 1/2 minutes in. A couple of minutes later the guitar once again grinds away. Another calm before 21 minutes with piano and tasteful guitar. Check out the fat bass 22 1/2 minutes in. Vocals are back a minute later in a catchy melody with strummed guitar and drums. It builds and the tempo picks back up. The song ends with a nice guitar, bass and drum melody.

I do recommend this one to all you metal fans out there. Very melodic with all kinds of mood and tempo shifts, but I do feel something is lacking but i'm not sure what that is.