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What an opening salvo from this Belgian prog-metal group, on which everything is snapshot perfect. Exciting, varied instrumentals and tempos, great songwriting, intelligence beyond compare (well, not beyond comparing to acts signed to Inside Out), you name it. If they’ve been around since ‘02 and have only now presented a good and proper statement to the world, well, more power to ‘em for using the gestation period wisely. Singer/bassist Benno Van Keulen’s vocals lean towards the grandiose and somewhat flat yet remain personal and resonant, indicative of a place somewhere between AOR and alt-rock nasality. Not a criticism, just a mindful observation. The genuine criticism is that there is so much to love on The Rise that it’s almost too much. No, it’s definitely too much. An hour and ten minutes for a debut release bespeaks a group mindset equal parts ambitious, arrogant and overzealous. My two cents’ worth: clipping off the twenty-three minute four-parter “Heartless,” with its attendant mood shifts, and saving it for a deluxe EP a la Dream Theater's A Change of Seasons would have served these fellas better. Despite my seemingly endless harping, this is well worth owning in any form, be it extended or advisedly truncated.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Captatio Benevolentiae |
| 2. Where I Am |
| 3. Sophie's World |
| 4. The Fatekeeper |
| 5. Where I Was (Reminiscences) |
| 6. Heartless, Part 1: Autumn Rain |
| 7. Heartless, Part 2: Stop Haunting Me |
| 8. Heartless, Part 3: Corridor Of Wolves |
| 9. Heartless, Part 4: My Gift |
| 10. The Reason Why |
| 11. Disconnect |
| 12. Where She Is |
| 13. Losing the Shackles |
: 70:49
| Buy other coRPus albums |
