So i get the album, throw it on in anticipation, and the first two listens, I wonder what has happened. I just didn't get it. Russell Allen's vocals just didn't seem to fit at all. What was happening there? The guitars and drums were good, but what was the style of music? It wasn't what I'd call straight heavy metal. Mind you, I am old and a teenager of the 1980's metal scene, so my interpretation of this would be somewhat different from others.
Leave it for a week. I come back to the album with a fresh mind, and suddenly it has changed, mostly for the good. Now I am actually looking forward to the grunging screams of the chorus of "Undaunted". Immediately the album clicked. I got what they were aiming for. The style is so different from what these individuals had done before in their other bands that I just hadn't been able to get past that. With the benefit of having heard the album two or three times, and coming back with a clear head, I could appreciate the music so much better.
So how does it rate? In terms of musicianship, this may well end up being the album of 2012. Russell Allen's vocals have a harder edge to them than is absolutely apparent on his Symphony X work, but they work wonderfully well, and are the driving force behind the best songs here. Mike Orlando's guitaring in places is spectacular, and his work on his solo's in the majority of the songs is stunning. Mike Portnoy's drumming may be surprisingly free of some of the ludicrous rolls and fills that encompassed most of his work with Dream Theater, but its (comparative) simplicity is perfectly suited here, driving each song without taking away the focus of the other members. If there is a drummer out there with a better drum sound than Portnoy, then I don't know who it is, because as per usual it is immaculate here.
Songs like "Undaunted" and "Psychsane" and "Hit the Wall" and "Come Undone" are fantastic songs that have a great feel and groove to them. They are my favourites from the album.
In the long run, only two songs from the album are a disappointment, the ballad-esque "All on the Line" and "Angel Sky", and this is only because I'm not a fan of the power ballad. Most fans of power metal will probably think they are great. Don't get me wrong, the musicianship is brilliant on these songs, they just aren't my style of metal.
Most metal fans will find something on this album to enjoy. It's well worth the few dollars you plonk down at the record store to find out for yourself.
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