i had the misfortune to sit through this song. God, what a mess. I could create any of these "masterful" riffs in 5 minutes, and im not even an especially good guitarist! And I'm not talking about virtuosity here--there are NO original melodies in this song! gahhhhhh! *frustration* Its mind-numbing how every phrase seems familiar... and on a mean note, the musicianship feels kind of weak and amateur. Not sure if thats the production or what (or my own personal bias more likely).
the only positive thing i can say is that the lyrics, what i heard of them, did not embarass me. They seemed songworthy.
Went to the website, this guy calls it his musical legacy? pretty sad if you ask me. I have a penchant for long song when done well, but all this does is reassure in my mind the general dearth of modern progressive music.
there might have been a time when I would have thought this was good. Some odd, mythical time when i had the patience to sit through this, but not the discernment to see it as re-dumb-dant and derivative crap.... (ie.. a time called "never")