echolyn (Echolyn)

Year: 2012

Echolyn is typically a difficult band for me to evaluate.  From the albums that I have listened to, I know I like their music, yet I'm not sure what exactly it is that I like about them.  They are known for their quirky, off-beat, Gentle Giant-like rhythms peppered with intricate vocal harmonies.

This particular album consists of two discs and a total of eight songs.  While the first song ("Island") is quite good and interesting, the rest of this album does absolutely nothing for me.  I wish I could better articulate why I find it so lackluster, but there's not much to say other than there is nothing over these two discs which grabs me.

The lyrics are fairly dark and brooding with the music sometimes (but not always) following suit.  As a result, the listening experience (especially when accompanied by the unimpressive cardboard case) leaves me cold and wishing I was doing something else.

Based upon others' reviews, it would appear that I am in the minority when it comes to this "self-titled" album.  (Self-titled is in quotes because their first album was also self-titled creating unnecessary confusion, in my opinion.)  Perhaps I am missing something even though I've listened to this well over twenty times.  It is not in my nature to give a negative review, especially of a band that I really like.

Echolyn took the risk of putting together lots of music in a double album format, but for me it doesn't work because there's just not enough interesting music here.

Momentum (Neal Morse)

Year: 2012

Momentum is now the seventh solo prog album from Neal Morse.  Those familiar with Morse's work know that he is a prolific songwriter always able to craft strong melodies which highlight his skills as a multi-instrumentalist while relying on significant contributions from Mike Portnoy and Randy George.

Momentum consists of five relatively short songs and one 33-minute epic ("World Without End").  The album opens with the title track "Momentum."  I consider this to be high-quality pop/prog as it showcases an engaging upbeat melody and a blistering guitar solo from guest artist Paul Gilbert.

"Thoughts, Part 5" is next.  This may just be the best song on the album and is very reminiscent of King Crimson's "Red," but with Gentle Giant-like vocal harmonies.  After the heavy guitar riffs and vocal acrobats, the song ends with an instrumental jam with some really nice playing from both Portnoy and George.

"Smoke and Mirrors" follows and is a gorgeous piece very unique to what you might normally expect from Morse.  I consider this to be the best ballad he has ever written and feel that it fits very nicely on this album.

"Weathering Sky" is the fourth track and while catchy and hard-driving, this is probably my least favorite song on the album.  Neal says on the "Making of" DVD which is included with the Special Edition that he doesn't know what "weathering sky" means, but he liked the sound of it.  While I find that mildly humorous, I personally prefer lyrics with meaning over lyrics that have none.  I will discuss this a bit more later in this review.

"Freak" is next and is another slower song that I would consider to be "prog-lite."  It has a catchy bridge that leads into a dynamic modulation giving the song a nice dramatic finish.

"World Without End" is the final track, clocking in at 33 minutes.  This is another strong epic which was have come to expect from Neal Morse.  The song is divided up into six distinct parts all of which add quality parts to the whole.  It is worth noting that there are some really interesting guitar solos peppered throughout the song, including a nifty bass solo toward the end.  This song takes some time to truly appreciate.  On the first few listens, nothing really stood out to me, yet I never grew tired or bored or felt like the song was bloated.  Now after about ten listens, I've come to really enjoy almost everything about this epic track.  My only quibble is my primary grievance with the album as a whole which is...

The lyrics!  The scuttlebutt surrounding this album is that Morse wrote all of the music in two weeks with the lyrics presumably penned in that same time frame.  The music is great, but the lyrics (primarily on "Thoughts," "Weathering Sky" and "World Without End") leave a lot to be desired.  Now many listeners are going to be thrilled that the Christian references are virtually nonexistent, but they have been replaced with lyrics that are silly at best and at times, nonsensical.  One of the things that I have loved about Morse's music is that his music and lyrics are usually pretty gripping and moving (whether you agree with them or not).  I feel that aspect is completely missing on this particular album and as a result, brings it down a notch in my estimation from some of his better albums (One, ?, Sola Scriptura and Testimony 2).

Overall, I highly recommend the album and really feel as if all of the tracks are strong and perhaps more diverse musically from the typical Morse album.

Deconstruction (Devin Townsend)

Year: 2011

I love Devin Townsend.  I like his music.  I like his humor.  I especially like it when he combines his humor with his music, as he did so well in Ziltoid, the Omniscient.  Unfortunately, I think he really goes WAY over-the-top in about every area imaginable in the production of Deconstruction.  I have already reviewed Ghost (which was released at the same time) and lamented how he left the center of his typical musical universe to explore the extreme edges.  Ghost was too soft.  Deconstruction is too...well, everything.  You name it, Deconstruction has too much of it.

Townsend loves to create a wall of sound, but with this album he has created walls upon walls of sounds and the overall effect is ultimately more distracting (assaulting is the better word) than pleasing to my ears.

The album starts off quite nicely with the opening moments of "Praise the Lowered" which steadily increases in intensity and volume to become somewhat of a frothing mess which is a precursor of things to come.

"Stand" follows and is a great track, right in the wheelhouse for what makes Devin such a great artist.  It is heavy, with lots of layered guitar parts providing unique sounds in conjunction with Devin's vocal arrangements.  However, the sonic assault has yet to truly begin.  "Juular" is reminiscent of the "Vampolka"-"Vampira" combo from Synchestra.  It comes fast and furious and it is becoming apparent that Townsend is throwing more and more into the mix.

"Planet of the Apes" is next and starts out well enough with a heavy off-beat groove.  The drums and samples are a bit annoying here though as everything sounds way too programmed.  I do enjoy the change of pace though that this song goes through especially around the 6-minute mark.  Devin's vocals are great though in this song, especially when he is not screaming.

"Sumeria" continues the heavy programming sound which I don't care for and the walls of sound begin to grate on me even though there are some nice musical moments here.  But this is about where Devin loses me on this album.  "The Mighty Masturbator" is the next song and it starts innocently enough, but with a title like that you know the opening soft, acoustic sounds are momentary.  Between "Masturbator", "Pandemic" and "Deconstruction", there is just too much silliness and loud loudness to the point where everything just feels overbearing.

Devin will be Devin.  Walls of sound, passing gas, references to both male and female sex organs are in full supply on this album.  It's just too much for me.  I'm so worn out after listening to this album that Ghost all of a sudden seems like a welcome change.

Grace For Drowning (Steven Wilson)

Year: 2011

I like Porcupine Tree.  They make nice music.  Wilson is obviously a big part of that.  However, they have never once wowed me.  Signify, In Absentia, Deadwing and Fear of a Blank Planet have all been enjoyable albums to my ears, but I would not consider any of them masterpieces.  Now Wilson has released a couple of solo albums, with Grace For Drowning being the more highly acclaimed of the two.  This has me slightly perplexed as I have found nothing to be enthusiastic about with this latest release.

I find Grace For Drowning to be plodding and slightly boring.  It reminds me of Deadwing and Signify at times, yet muffled and ambient in the Sky Moves Sideways vein.  The cornerstone of the album is the 23-minute epic, "Raider II."  While I am a big fan of epics, this one is just too ambient for my taste.  I find myself bored and wondering why Wilson felt the need to drag this out such as King Crimson did way back when with "Moonchild."  Much of the song (which is basically completely instrumental) is just slowly moving soundscapes that ultimately build in intensity with a climatic percussive crash (almost identical to "Larks' Tongues in Aspic"). The whole thing leaves me thinking "gosh, I would have much preferred to listen to a 23-minute loop of Talking Drum, the noodling of Moonchild and the climax of LTIA."  Oh well, we all have our different tastes as a number of people obviously love this epic.

To me, the highlights of the album are "Postcard", "Track One" and "Remainder the Black Dog."  These are strong songs with nice melodies and musical arrangements.  I find "Postcard" especially beautiful while "Remainder" would have fit nicely on the Signify album.  The rest of the album is fairly forgettable, in my opinion and overall leaves me with the same feeling that I get when listening to The Incident.  It's okay, but nothing to get excited about.

Selling England by the Pound (Genesis)

Year: 1973

The Good, Bad and the Average

The Good: Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show

While these two songs are very solid, they do not make this album a masterpiece.  "Firth of Fifth" is the third song and showcases some nice instrumentation in the way of keyboards early and guitar late.  Banks and Hackett showcase their skills rather nicely in this song and the overall effect is impressive.  "The Cinema Show" is an epic which weaves a nice story with a melody that never bores or gets old.  The whole band contributes nicely with Gabriel doing some emotive singing which adds some texture to the work.

The Average: Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, I Know What I Like, More Fool Me, After the Ordeal

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" starts off well but seems to drag about midway through the song.  In my humble opinion, it is long only for the sake of being long.  Good progressive rock songs should capture your attention and not let go.  This song just doesn't do that for me.  After about three minutes, I am ready for the next song, which is..."I Know What I Like" has a catchy melody and is fun to sing along with, but it does not grab my imagination.  So while I am glad that the day has broken on the "Moonlit Knight" with this song, I am already looking ahead to the aforementioned "Firth of Fifth".  "More Fool Me" showcases Collins' vocals nicely.  But other than that, it is a pretty forgettable love (pop?) song which really slows the pace coming in right after "Firth of Fifth."  "After the Ordeal" is basically an intermission piece stuffed between the two eleven-minute epics on this disc.  It is so forgettable in this position that I can't even think of anything to say about it.

The Bad: The Battle of Epping Forest, Aisle of Plenty

My primary gripe with this album comes in the form of "The Battle of Epping Forest."  This is a goofy song that is almost painful for me to listen to.  Gabriel seems to have fun with the various vocal jokes that he pulls off when performing this song.  But I would much prefer to hear him do the Slippermen than this mess.  The song begins with a march beat and flutes and turns into a musical brawl of epic (pun most certainly intended) proportions.  Hackett does insert a few fun little guitar riffs, but this song could just as easily be mistaken for a disco tune (in certain parts) as it could for progressive rock.  "Aisle of Plenty" is basically a 90 second reprise of the opening of the album with Gabriel adding some non-sensical utterances as the album closes.  I'm not sure why the band felt the need to end the album this way, but there it is.  A disappointing closure to an otherwise decent album.

Overall

I like Genesis and I like this album.  So while I would recommend it, I feel I should point out its flaws with this review.  The good songs are good enough to carry this album, but I can't for the life of me say that this is a masterpiece of progressive music.  I much prefer Genesis' next effort in The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis)

Year: 1974


Like all good prog, the first time I listened to this album, I scratched my head and thought "What the heck is this crap?!?"  And though I still haven't figured out what all the crap on this album is, I have grown to really appreciate this culmination of music.

It seems that most hardcore Genesis fans have a hard time liking The Lamb compared to Foxtrot, Selling England, etc.  However, I much prefer this album.  I am a sucker for concept albums (even if I don't always understand exactly what the concept is).  There are so many unforgettable passages in this two-disc experience beginning with the opening piano solo.

While I do recognize that the album isn't perfect due to some "less than musical" moments ("The Waiting Room" and "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats"), there are so many great tunes packaged in The Lamb that it would be wrong to think of this as being anything less than excellent as far as a musical album is concerned.  Songs such as "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "In the Cage", "The Carpet Crawlers", "Lilywhite Lilith", "Anyway", "The Lamia", "The Colony of Slippermen" and "It" are all great songs.  Some of them are haunting in their solemn melodies and some are thought-provoking with their anguished lyrics, but all are great
music, in my opinion.

I highly recommend this album.

Foxtrot (Genesis)

Year: 1972

While there is some very good music on this album, I just don't see it as being amazing as most prog enthusiasts will tell you.  I refuse to agree with the majority that "Supper's Ready" is one of the best epics ever.  In my opinion, it's dull and offers very little substance both lyrically and musically.  I think that "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is the highlight of the album, with "Time Table" and "Horizons" offering some good stuff in smaller packages.  "Watcher of the Skies" kicks things off and is the poster child for the mellotron, but otherwise doesn't do much for me.  It starts off slowly and never seems to go anywhere.  "Get 'em Out By Friday" is fun and is a nice change of pace on this album.  While I like this album, I cannot in good conscience say it is one of the best ever.  Ho-hum.

Testimony 2 (Neal Morse)

Year: 2011

Having already given masterpiece status to two of Morse's other albums (One and ?), I thought it unlikely that he would be able to put out another stellar album after his more recent albums (Sola Scriptura and Lifeline) left me a little disappointed.  I was wrong.  Testimony 2 is a beautiful work and a true masterpiece.

I have been critical of Morse in the past for self-plagiarizing; but with this album being a sequel, it made sense to do that very thing.  Interestingly enough, the reoccurring themes from the first Testimony album are brought to life in a fantastic way.  Testimony 2 is full of dizzying overtures, soaring melodies and catchy themes which can't help but please.  There are so many highlights, it's difficult to determine where to begin: "Overture No. 4" and "Time Changer" are brilliantly written and performed (with some nice contributions from guys named Nick D'Virgilio, Dave Meros and Alan Morse).  "Jayda" is emotionally moving.  "Jesus' Blood" and "The Truth Will Set You Free" are Neal Morse at his best with soulish singing and energetic playing on a wide assortment of instruments.  "It's For You" is a fantastic tune with some stunning guitar work performed by Paul Bielatowicz.

Disc 1 closes with "Crossing Over" which is a nice ending, but also is my one quibble with the whole album in that it goes a little longer than I think it should.  Morse likes having big drawn-out endings and for once I'd like to see something finish strong and abruptly.  It's a minor quibble, but one I thought worth mentioning.  I consider this a masterpiece without hesitation and I haven't even gotten to the best part...

Disc 2!

Three songs - all very strong - with "Seeds of Gold" being a 26-minute epic and an outstanding one at that.  I highly recommend this album to any lover of prog music.

Lifeline (Neal Morse)

Year: 2008

Let me preface this review by admitting to being a rather big fan of Neal Morse's music, whether it be his solo output or his work with Spock's Beard and Transatlantic.  I have enthusiastically given two of his solo albums 5-star ratings (One and ?) and been amazed at the volume of music he is able to write, record and produce in a short period of time.  However, I think there is perhaps a noticeable downside to being such a prolific songwriter: the similar musical nuances that inevitably get re-used in a short period of time before the overall music style has a chance to sufficiently evolve.  More than any artist I can think of, Morse gets blamed for self-plagiarizing and I believe this to be warranted.  Morse makes it fairly obvious in his music where his influences lie and lately, he seems to be most influenced by his own past work.

I say all this in my review of Morse's latest release, Lifeline, since on the first few listens it is fairly distracting how much this sounds like a mesh of Snow, V, Sola Scriptura and One.  I remember the first time I listened to Riverside's first album, Out of Myself.  In my first few listens to that album, I felt like I was listening to a Pink Floyd cover band that had switched some words around and thrown in some growls for good measure.  But after getting deeper into that album, that feeling went away and it sounded more like...Riverside.  Unfortunately, with Lifeline, I just can't shake that deja vu feeling as some of the passages are just too similar, if not exactly the same as previous Morse music.

The album starts off with a fairly good song in the title track, Lifeline.  It runs for over 13 minutes and moves at a great pace making it seem like a much shorter song.  As others have noted, it sounds much like the opening tune from the One album (The Creation).  This song has grown on me nicely since I first heard it and I pretty much enjoy it from start to finish.

The next four songs are all between 4 and 6 minutes and aren't especially noteworthy, with the exception of Leviathan which is just quirky enough to raise your eyebrows.  While the tempo of Leviathan is reminiscent of Author of Confusion from One, this is the most unique song on the album and is another big grower.  As I said, the other three are "lost in the shuffle" as they are typical Morse ballads in that they have nice tunes, uplifting lyrics and the usual acoustic guitar solo similar to the one in "We All Need Some Light".

"So Many Roads" is the big epic.  For whatever reason, I'm just not that crazy about it.  As a Morse fan, I usually absolutely love his long epics, but this one just doesn't quite measure up.  It doesn't seem to have those bone-chilling moments that I have come to expect and get in good supply in All of the Above, The Great Nothing, The Creation, The Separated Man, The Door, ?, etc. etc. etc.

"Fly High" finishes the album off and is perhaps the catchiest tune on the whole album.  Weighing in at six minutes and change, it leaves a great taste in my mouth at the conclusion and does not seem to have all the sameness that plagues much of this album.

While I think there is lots of great music on this album, it falls a bit flat on my ears.  I actually think this album will be better received by people not familiar with Morse's other music, as they won't be distracted by the similarities to his previous work.

Cover to Cover (Neal Morse)

Year: 2006

This is a surprisingly enjoyable album, with outstanding performances put in by Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy and Randy George.  If you like classic rock, then I would say that this album is an excellent addition to your collection.

The highlights from this album (in my opinion) are Morse's renditions of "I'm Free/Sparks", "I'm the Man" and "Find My Way Back Home."  Portnoy appears to have a field day on the kit pretending to be Keith Moon as he really delivers some excellent work covering The Who's "Sparks."

I normally do not care much for albums such as this, but this compilation of songs was so good, and Morse & Company's delivery is so strong, I have no problem recommending this album.

Sola Scriptura (Neal Morse)

Year: 2007

Overall, I think Sola Scriptura is an outstanding album.  It has great music which is performed amazingly well by Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Paul Gilbert and Mr. Morse himself.  It also has stunning cover art which provides a wonderful backdrop for the album's concept.  Fans of Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, Transatlantic and Morse's other albums will enjoy this release.

I have listened to this album over 40 times now.  As much as I like it, I don't think it's quite up to the level of Neal's last two albums (One and ?, which I both gave 5 stars without reservation).  My main criticism with this new album is that it borrows too much from what Neal has already recorded.  This has been pointed out in many of the previous reviews and is very obvious, in my opinion.  There are sections which sound just like Snow, V, One and Testimony.  Even though I like the music in all of these places, I have heard it before.

Even though I've never had a problem with Morse's lyrics, I know there are those who do not appreciate the Christian message that is typically at the forefront of his music.  This album actually has a fairly dark atmosphere and the words are more cryptic than what you will normally find from Morse.

The opening track is The Door and is certainly one of the finest tunes that Morse has ever written.  It is a 29-minute epic which has all sorts of moods, twisting and turning to the final climax highlighted by a wonderful guitar solo by Paul Gilbert.

Another epic (The Conflict) follows and is a very dark song with a strong metal vibe to it.  Morse's vocals are surprisingly good throughout this song and another catchy guitar solo by Gilbert steals the show (this one is acoustic).

This album is structured identically to that of Transatlantic's Bridge Across Forever with four songs, three of them being epics with a more poppish tune inserted into the third position on the album.  Heaven in my Heart is the third song and while many prog fans seem to be bored by it, I actually like it quite a bit even though it is the least progressive music on the album.

The fourth and final song is The Conclusion.  This song seems to lack the firepower that was so evident in the first two tracks.  I find that it has some very good parts, but also has what I would consider to be a bit of aimless fluff.  I do think the climax is very nice though with choir-like voices coming in to accentuate what Morse is singing.

This is a very strong effort and I would gladly recommend it to all progressive music fans.

? (Neal Morse)

Year: 2005

Overall, this is a very impressive album.  From start to finish, there is no let-up in good music.  What is somewhat unique is that the whole album is really just one song, with twelve distinct "segments."  But the music flows non-stop and is one cohesive unit, making for an outstanding conceptual piece from Neal Morse.  As has been stated in previous reviews, Morse relies on the skills of Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Alan Morse (Spock's Beard), Roine Stolt (Flower Kings), Randy George (Ajalon) and Steve Hackett in the making of this album.

Segment 1: The Temple of the Living God

The main theme floats in over the sounds of a wind-swept scape and begins to build into some excellent progressive runs using a piano/keyboard and then is joined by a nasty saxophone.  The opening lyrics tell of a necessary quest to find the temple of the living God.  Morse lays the lyrical foundation for the album by declaring that a sacrifice is necessary in order to successfully find the temple of the living God.

Segment 2: Another World

The music subtly changes as the quest begins by "stepping into another world."  This is the world of the Biblical Old Testament, where the Israelites communed with God through the Mosaic tabernacle.  This is a short segment but has a wonderful chorus with some intricate chord changes that are eyebrow raising the first five times you hear it and are mesmerizing after you become familiar with where the music is going.  Great stuff packed into this segment which finishes with a solitary acoustic guitar to lead into...

Segment 3: The Outsider

Morse tells of someone looking into the world of the Mosaic tabernacle and the priests who were responsible for making sacrifices to appease God and to make atonement for the wrongs of the Israelites.  Lyrically, this segment paints a nice picture of "a no one hiding outside" looking into the goings-on of God's people.  The music begins quietly and adds some majestic bells which builds into...

Segment 4: Sweet Elation

The presence of God is sweet elation and is described as being "a cloud of secrets fills the air as the lines are blurred between here and there."  The music continues to crescendo with stunning acoustic guitar work and a huge emphasis on the bass.  This segment will appeal to many to the catchy pop chorus and the lengthy solos
which will put a hard-core progger in hysterics.  The solos take over to bring a close to this segment.

Segment 5: In the Fire

Morse begins this track with some Wah-Wah "talking" guitar that leads into an amazing vocal display as Neal layers numerous vocal harmonies into a great sounding melody.  This segment starts off fairly innocent, but then starts building quickly and before you know it, Morse is yelling "BURN IT DOWN!"  This scream is
followed by a dizzying array of solos, first keyboard, then some drums and bass, then a guitar (sounds like that kooky Alan Morse cutting the solo) and then some more keyboard and then...well, let's just say one solo leads into another for an intense build-up of sound.  Morse's sticky sweet vocals come back in attempting to
keep this song on topic, which is the need for a sacrifice to appease a holy and righteous God.  The vocal arrangements start to trade punches with some of the instrumental solos and the momentum keeps building and never really slows down while leading right into...

Segment 6: Solid As The Sun

This is probably my favorite portion of the album.  The rhythm section really drives this segment which is culminated in a wonderful bass solo which should tickle the fancy of any musician.  Some great music here with some repeated refrains from the previous segment.  There is a musical climax as the first half of the album comes to a close.

Segment 7: The Glory of the Lord

This segment is other-worldly in its heavenly choir sound.  Many have complained of its brevity, but Morse seems to just use this as a quick intermission between the first half of the album and the second half which begins with...

Segment 8: Outside Looking In

This tune is easily the most accessible song on the album and is gut-wrenching in its sorrowful lyrics and quest for hope.  It is a slower ballad which lays the foundation for the subsequent segments to build and to offer a solution to the lyrical anguish expressed in this song.

Segment 9: 12

This song is a highlight reel which begins somewhat inauspiciously with a repeated theme of the Biblical significance of the number 12.  Then when Steve Hackett's solo hits your ears, your jaw may just drop to the floor.  I hate using the same tired clichés when described good music, but I must succumb to the temptation and state that Hackett's solo truly is a mind-blower.

Segment 10: Entrance

Hackett's solo kicked things into a higher gear in the last song and things continue to build during this segment which I consider to be my second-favorite of the album.  There are lots of wonderful things going on here with obvious bells being rung when "the gates are being opened."  This song also reaches a stunning climax
in musical intensity which will leave some listeners out of breath (but wanting more!).

Segment 11: Inside His Presence

Entrance ended with a bang and now this song comes with a little less emphasis but quickly grows and ends with some powerful lyrics and wonderful music to boot.

Segment 12: The Temple of the Living God

The journey ends where it began and let me tell you, it really was a fun and exhilarating journey.

Conclusion:

Obviously, I enjoy this album and Morse's music in general.  If you enjoyed his previous efforts, I would be very surprised if you did not fall in love with this album.  Great songwriting, great lyrics, great performances from the all-star lineup and a fun musical journey make this an "essential" album in my opinion.

Ziltoid the Omniscient (Devin Townsend)

Year: 2007

When I first heard Ayreon's The Human Equation album, I was intrigued by a number of the voices that I heard on it, Devin Townsend's being one of them.  To be honest, I was a bit intimidated to delve into his discography because I thought his speed metal tendencies might not be to my taste.  But after reading a couple of favorable reviews of this album with the silly name, I thought it might be time to give the Canadian hard rocker a try.

Well, I'm sure you've already noticed the number of stars I have given this album, so I think it's obvious what I thought.  Surprised...Stunned...Amazed.  This album left me speechless.  Are all of those voices really Devin's?  This is a fabulous album in the prog metal genre.

Things start off with a searing speed-metal introduction to the concept's main character, Ziltoid.  I love this start for a number of reasons.  First, the music and the concept quickly let the listener know that this is going to be a tongue-in-cheek musical, with quality humor and even higher quality music.  Second, the very first minute of music incorporates much of what makes this album so nice: impressive speed metal sections combined with richly layered vocal tracks, another fine rendition of Townsend's patented "wall of sound."

I especially enjoy the more melodic parts of this album which can be found in the tracks "Solar Winds", "Hyperdrive", "Color Your World" and "The Greys" with these latter two songs being my favorite part of the album as there is a huge build-up and a very dynamic finish in "Color Your World" with the "Creator of the Omniverse" screaming at a defeated Ziltoid that "WE ARE ALL PUPPETS!", only to fade out with the beautiful closing in "The Greys."

Well done Devin!  Thanks for singing on The Human Equation as it would have taken me much longer to find out about you.  This is definitely a prog metal masterpiece worthy of five stars.

One (Neal Morse)

Year: 2004

This is perhaps my favorite album of all time. It has everything that I look for in a great album: great melodies, grandiose epics, compelling theme and stunning musicianship. Morse is often-criticized as being too formulaic in his music and while I might tend to agree, his formula works to perfection on this album. If you like epics, you'll be hard-pressed to find an album that offers up as many solid epics as One as there are 5 tracks that are at least 9 minutes in length.

One is a concept album that encompasses almost the entire message of the Christian faith from the creation of the universe to the idea of eternal bliss in the presence of God. While I happen to enjoy the concept, for purposes of this review I will instead focus primarily on the music as that is ultimately the reason why I like this album so much. Morse does a wonderful job though of creating musical moods to reflect the story that he weaves with the lyrics.

Track 1: The Creation. This 18-minute epic is very good from start to finish, but is especially good from the 13-minute mark on as the music turns appropriately dark and sinister in line with the story being conveyed. Mike Portnoy's distinctive drumming is on full display and he does a really nice job of driving some of the fast sections of this song. Phil Keaggy also provides a nifty guitar solo on this track.

Track 2: The Man's Gone. This short song provides a nice reprieve after the intensity of the previous track. Most of this song establishes a theme which will reoccur at various times throughout the remainder of the album. This tends to be a Morse trademark.

Track 3: Author of Confusion. This song is crazy. Portnoy, Randy George on the bass and Morse on lead guitar and vocals are a whirling dervish of sound on this track. The musicians' technical skills are showcased in this 9-minute track which leaves me breathless due to the intensity and tempo.

Track 4: The Separated Man.  Morse continues his love affair with epics with this 18-minute bouquet of musical goodness.  I happen to really enjoy this song that despite changing styles a number of times over the course of the song, it flows really well.  There are elements of guitar-driven metal, followed by beautiful piano-driven acoustic portions, with a flamenco guitar solo to lead back to some heavier prog metal portions.  Morse is a master at putting together a good epic and this track is no exception.

Track 5: Cradle to the Grave.  This somber duet between Morse and Phil Keaggy is a nice change of pace.  This is probably my least favorite track on the album, mainly due to its AOR/pop style.

Track 6: Help Me/The Spirit and the Flesh.  The tempo picks back up with this song as the musicians again are allowed to show off as Morse delivers some nice piano parts along with an impressive acoustic guitar solo, while Portnoy and George push the pace.  Morse's emotions really come out in his vocal performance as he ranges from angst to peace from the start to the finish of this song.

Track 7: Father of Forgiveness.  This six-minute ballad provides an important step in the album concept from a lyrical standpoint, but is not especially noteworthy from a musical standpoint other than having a nice, memorable melody.

Track 8: Reunion.  Morse closes out the album with a fun-filled epic that comes off as a semi-structured jam session.  For an album with so many highlights, I love the way this song concludes everything as its upbeat feeling is transferred to the listener.  As a prog fan, the musical experience ends on such a satisfying note, that you are tempted to immediately give the disc another spin.  I know that sounds a bit overboard, but that's certainly the feeling that it gave me on plenty of occasions.

Morse hits a home run with this release, making it his masterpiece (though his Question Mark album is awfully good as well).  In this reviewer's opinion, it's truly a masterpiece and a must-listen for any fan of symphonic prog.

Ghost (Devin Townsend)

Year: 2011

It wasn't all that long ago when one of my favorite bands released two albums on top of each other that were almost complete opposites when Opeth gave us Deliverance and Damnation.  Eight years later, another one of my favorites does practically the same thing and my reaction is no different now as it was when Opeth did it.  Many consider it progressive when a band attempts to push out its borders, but I find that there is a cost.

I fell in love with Devin Townsend with Terria, Synchestra and Ziltoid the Omniscient (my favorite).  Now with Deconstruction and Ghost, Mr. Townsend leaves behind his normally balanced approach to music by giving us entire albums on the extreme edge of his repertoire.  This particular review concerns Ghost, which entirely consists of Townsend's ethereal and ambient styles of music.

Soothing?  Yes.  Pretty?  Yes.  What I want in a Devin Townsend album?  Not even close.  This is the Mamma Bear side of Townsend which just feels too soft and tepid for my taste.  While I would agree that there are redeeming prog elements contained in this piece of music, I would never consider this essential nor would I recommend it.  (If reading this review put you to sleep, then I have captured the essence of Ghost.)