MANIFESTO FOR FUTURISM

Keyboardist Matt Guillory is probably the most well known member of this band in the Prog world. He played on ZERO HOUR's debut, as well on EXPLORER CLUB's debut, and on the MULLMUZZLER project. By the way vocalist Matthew Bradley also sang on that EXPLORER CLUB album. Brothers Patrick and Steve Reyes play lead guitar and bass respectivly. What freaked me out a little was how much the lead guitarist sounded like Jasun Tipton from ZERO HOUR at times. He has that trade mark guitar sound of Jasuns' down perfectly on several occasions. I really like that the bass is prominant on this album. Each one of these guys play very impressively. By the way Matt thanks among others Jasun and Troy Tipton, Kevin Moore, John Pertucci, Doug Ott and ENCHANT, and Jim Matheos and FATES WARNING.

"Within A Stare" opens with the volume turned down as we can hear synths and drums. It kicks in heavily before a minute. The bass is fantastic and so is the drumming. Vocals arrive after a minute,synths are in the background. That bass / drum show is back before 2 1/2 minutes. There's that Tipton-like guitar 4 minutes in and heavy riffs follow then a guitar solo. Nice. That bass / drum show returns 5 minutes in. Tipton-like guitar ends it. "Miracles In Yesteryears" opens with this amazing drum / guitar section. It calms down as reserved vocals arrive. It picks back up to a solid soundscape. The guitar sounds cool with background synths and vocals. An excellent bass / synth interlude 3 minutes in. Heaviness follows. Some amazing complex guitar work in this one around 4 minutes. Tipton-like guitar 5 minutes in. "Despite The Waves" hits the ground running with high pitched guitar and some more incredible drumming. Synths are in the background as vocals arrive. A nice heavy sound comes and goes. Tipton-like guitar 3 1/2 minutes in. Take away the heaviness and i'm thinking ENCHANT.

"Whispers" is a short instrumental of piano and synths throughout. "Ashen Days" is heavy with synths to begin with as vocals come in. Nice bass as the guitar comes grinding in. Guitar solo 2 1/2 minutes in with a calm a minute later. The intro section is back 4 minutes in as themes are repeated. "Andromeda Sunrise" opens with acoustic guitar with electric guitar coming in and playing lazy melodies over top. This sounds really good. "This Time Around" is an accessible and melodic tune. Drumming stands out early. The chorus sounds terrific. Nice heavy guitar sounds during the verses. Good tune. "Hills Of Memory" is a mid paced, straight forward track. Reserved vocals, acoustic guitar and synths start things off. The highlight is the bass after 4 minutes. "Can't You See" is better.Heavy with powerful drums as the guitar starts to make some noise. Vocals are reserved at first, then riffs come in. I love the guitar 3 minutes in and then after 3 1/2 minutes. Nice. "Living In Fear" blows me away with that intro. The complex drumming and guitar are killer. Then the synths sounds come in and they're are off the charts ! The bass is huge. This is unreal ! Vocals come in as the song levels out unfortunately. A RUSH moment 4 minutes in and after 7 minutes. Complex guitar 4 1/2 minutes in and 6 minutes in and to end it.

I can see why some aren't too thrilled with this album, but I also see why there are so many raving reviews on the internet about this recording. The playing is beyond outstanding but the vocals are average. 3.5 stars.