Metal Reviews

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Really good album. What held you back, Chris?

I Dunno, I really thought I was going to love this album since I am a big fan of Symphony X. However I just can't get into it? I like my music a little more complex and challanging for sure but I found this to be way too much! The songs sound overly complex to the point where they get in there own way and good ideas keep getting interupted by constant and pointless noodling.

Fans of math metal should love these guys. Bands like Spiral Architect, Watchtower, and Zero Hour come to mind much more than Symphony X despite a few similarites.

For me it sounds like these guys are trying to showcase their skills first, writing good songs 2nd. I think if they would have reversed the order this album would have been much better.

Give it time, dude.. Hard to get into yes, but I find it really passionate, and some of the stuff on here is just awesome... And by the way, I like this way better than Zero Hour, and I don't even like Spiral Architect.

That's the thing, I gave it a lot of spins waiting for something to happen but it never did. There are definitly some cool parts and ideas but overall just too disjointed for me.

It's weird but for some reason I really had a good feeling about this album and really wanted to like it but it just never clicked with me. It's not bad at all, I'd probably still rate it around 70-75....

Have to agree with Thomas here, this is quite a difficult album to get into. It's long, complex and quite heavy and dark, especially compared to the first two releases. This new one just continues the path The Great Divide started out. The previous album showed signs of darker songwriting here and there but this one is just overwhelming, especially for the uninitiated to prog.

I'd say the best with this band is to start with their debut, which is much easier to listen to and not as dark. Reminds me a lot of Pagan's Mind, somehow. It's definitely not as good as the next two (although The City Under Sands is just incredible) but it's easier to get into.

This looks cool. I've never really gotten anything by bands like these guys, Zero Hour, Spiral Architect, etc. even though I always like what I hear. Maybe i'll check this out.

I have a feeling I'm going to love this.

I'm not actually sure if my record labeled "When Time Fades" contains something different than yours, but on mine I'm hearing a symphonic power/prog band with catchy melodies and so much straightforwardness that any more of it would've made the album boring.
Stating that Suspyre is closer to Zero Hour than to Symphony X is just plain wrong. Not even a matter of subjective decision making, it's wrong. The same goes for drawing a comparison to Opeth, the two bands have completely different roots for their music. Maybe there was an incident where aliens abducted the Opeth guys and replaced them by child-devouring, communistic and powermetal playing clones in the recent weeks, but even that wouldn't count unless they issue a new album under that line-up.
Apart from all that, "When Time Fades" is absolutely kickass and definitely a must-listen if you don't know it yet (even if only to be safe from powermetal-loving aliens).

I can't find any comparisons to Zero Hour in my review...

The comparison to Opeth is there simply because I hear SOME of the same stuff in the various instrumental sections. Good for you if you found this catchy. Of course it has some catchy stuff on it, but not nearly enough to call it straight-forwad or power.

I think the cd is great and is catchy(not only vocally but musically) and it keeps the mind going. You have to be an active listener, not a casual listener, to really get into this release(except for maybe the opener, possesion-the negative). I think more of bands like Andromeda and Circus Maximus when I listen to this(even though Clay does sound like Russell at times) and I also think of Ice Age as well. I am a fan of spiral architect, cynic, and other progressive math metal bands and i don't find many comparisons, other than odd time signatures, because this release has emotion and feeling to it whereas bands like spiral architect are more about technicality than sounding emotional.

Circus Maximus was the exact band I thought of after the first listen. I'll have to listen to it some more, but I think it's pretty solid. Hopefully it will grow on me. There's just so much going on.

In my opinion it sounds too much like Symphony X but they are not as good (too complex for their own good imho). The album has its moments but in my opinion if that album is worth 90, then the last Symphony X is 120 . Just my 2 cents.

I love this, catchy but complex at the same time. If they were less complex, I'm sure I won't be interested in this.
Adding it to my favs of this year. (And sure winner in the progressive genre).