DEADWING

Just did the In Absentia review, an album that was slightly disappointing to me but that's also due to high expectations. This successor has a great entrance with the opener Deadwing. Now here's a song that can fully stand my critical test of quality. This is truly a tremendous song, one of my all time favourites by the band. And by a million miles the best song of this album as well I fear. Because how ecstatic I am about the title track, it's the complete opposite with the highly acclaimed Arriving Somewhere... I remember I played this many times when I downloaded it four years ago. It was a complete disappointment to me. So underwhelming. It sounds like a totally failed masterpiece attempt to me. I can't believe so many people fall in the trap the band set out here. Where the title track succeeds in just about every department (impact, composition, inspiration) this wannabe masterpiece track lasting 12 minutes fails in the same aspects. So overrated and overappreciated, I simply can't believe it. Matter of taste as well of course but I had to mention this in the review (sorry if it hurts anyone).

The rest of the album is not really worth to get into too deep. Most of the songs are the usual recipe by PT. Shallow is very heavy, so heavy it could make several hard rock bands blush. Lazarus is a nice ballad with a catchy chorus. Halo is average PT with a little bit of space and slightly distorted vocals at first but even these get normal later on. No big deal here. Mellotron Scratch is so typical for PT sound during their career. I have to say this is about the 10th song they did that almost sound exactly the same. It sounds very nice, no problem but it's copy cat big time I feel. Open Car is another heavier track proving that PT takes this road more and more. I don't mind this personally but it is of course the big reason why the band has become so hard to pigeonhole. Are they psychedelic/space, are they heavy prog, are they many styles combined. Well, last option of course but that's no subgenre here. The only thing that is very obvious is that the heavier side is gaining more and more ground. Just as I say this The Start of Something Beautiful is next and sounds much spacier once again. Obviously the band still likes the alternation. Glass Arm Shattering is probably the most original track of the album. It starts like a damaged vinyl being played and turns into one of the slow dreamy tracks. We know those, don't we ?

Well, at least it's a rightly chosen closer of an album, so the arrangement of the album is one of the stronger points for sure. But the conclusion is the same as with In Absentia, at least where the rating is concerned. Because the albums are not really copies of each other. On the other hand , they aren't 100% different either. Biggest difference to me is the presence of a masterpiece track on this album, one that was lacking on the predecessor. Unfortunately it's not enough for a higher rating, so three also here (again 3,3).