The Prog Rock Album Club

Unknown Soldier · 04-29-2013, 02:32 PM

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?

As BE said "Stalled Armageddon" has a kind of mini resemblence to Yes' Close to the Edge, but then the song does have an extremely modern feel and usually this kind of material gets lumped in a lot of the time with progressive metal. The tone of the song does have a crunchy heavy feel but the vocals are what really grabbed me here. The first thing that struck me having never heard of the vocalist was just how accomplished he is.

2. What did you think of the opening tracks?

The opening tracks gave us the full scope of the band, who seemed to have an emphasis overall on keeping things modern, rather than harking back to the glory days of prog.

3. What did you think of the later tracks?

I liked "Invasion" and it actually reminded me of Tool, in fact when I heard this song, Tool flashed into my mind as an influence on the band.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?

The highlight of the album, I've always been a sucker for a great vocalist.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?

Yes and I will certainly play it again.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?

I'm uncovering more stuff each time I listen to the songs.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?

There seemed to be a strong emphasis on the lyrics and they did seem strong throughout.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?

Another one of the highlights, the keyboard work was special but what would you expect from someone called Wakeman? At times the guitar was overbearing, but it was still accompolished playing.

9. What did you think of the production?

It was a crisp sounding production and couldn't fault it in any way.

10. How well do you already know the band/artist?

Had never heard of them, even though I did know Adam Wakeman.

11. What sub-genre, if any, would you assign this music to?

Progressive metal at its lighter end, but now I just remembered "Daddy ****ing Loves You" and the heaviness on there at times, is like a fully fledged metal band!

12. On repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?

I liked it straight away and on repeated listening things never changed that much.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?

Probably "Daddy ****ing Loves You" for its sheer ambition.

14. And the one you liked least?

No one weak track stood out.

15. Did the fact that this album is a debut/sophomore/middle period or later period allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?

N/A

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing other albums by the band/artist?

Yes I am, as I liked what was on offer here.

17. Did you get, thematically, the idea behind the album if there was one?

I'm not sure if I got the theme right but I seemed to think it was about human relationships?

18. Did the album end well?

As said earlier "Invasion" is a good song and I also liked "Big Day"

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?

Less emphasis on the guitars.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?

It was compact and well executed throughout.

Overall Album Rating: 7.5 out of 10.