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There’s something inherently hubristic about a band of noobs parading lengthy tunes on its debut platter, but here we have an Irish sextet offering six out of ten songs in total that pass the seven-minute mark. It’s not an automatic recipe for disaster, but it’s definitely solicitous of the most withering scorn, of which, dear reader, you’ll find absolutely none from me, because this thing smokes. Distributor (shite name - what were the runners-up, Label and A&R?) distributes (ugh, again!) a canny hybrid of groove-laden rhythm guitar underpinnings with all sorts of proggy flourishes, from busy drum fills, virtuoso keyboard/guitar solos, convincing male-female singing volleys and dramatic songwriting linearity. It’s the sort of dubiously underground (i.e., commercially ambitious) mix of gristle and saccharine that would appeal to fans of newer Dream Theater and Within Temptation, possibly suckering in a few Evanescence and Pain of Salvation (and Rush, and Machine Head, and Into Eternity, and...) fans along the way. Again, no insults there: someone’s got to reach for the brass ring. Hell, I wish that this was more polished so the band could really give voice to its inflated but merited sense of self. That includes the artwork, ‘cause the bare bones layout and zero printed lyrics ain’t happenin’ again, nahmean? Great things are in store for these guys. They might well annoy the pants off me someday, but we’ll cross that bridge and those pants when we get to them.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Clarity |
| 2. Plaguing You |
| 3. Complacent |
| 4. To Face Another Day |
| 5. Labyrinth |
| 6. Aesthetics |
| 7. Immoral, Immortal |
| 8. My Friend In The Mirror |
| 9. Solace |
| 10. Contradiction In Terms |
: 68:19
| Buy other Distributor albums |
