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Title: This one put me to shame
Review: "Not a bad listen. Some moody arrangements are interesting enough ("Communion and the Oracle" is nice), but too often Symphony X seem to play fast just for the sake of playing fast ("Evolution") - and speed does not make a simple melody any more interesting. This is an above average metal album, but it isn't really "progressive". Unless "progressive" is measured by the number of drumbeats per second..."That's what I wrote almost two years ago, upon first hearing it. Since then, it has grown and grown and grown on me, and has been one of my favorite albums. The more more you listen, the more you discover subtleties in the orchestration, vocal arrangements and lyrics that move, thrill and rock you. Once you manage to "listen past" the metal, you discover a whole new album. Genius. Absolute genius!To all fans of prog rock: If you've been turned off so called "prog metal" by the likes of Dream Theater, don't let that bias you against this album, as I initially did.
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