Redemption - The Fullness of Time

[circus_brimstone]

Redemption – The Fullness of Time
Sensory Records – SR3027 – June 21st, 2005
By Jason Jordan

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like Redemption, and those who don’t like Redemption. This progressive metal supergroup, of sorts, features Ray Alder (Fates Warning, Engine) on vocal duties, as well as Bernie Versailles (Fates Warning, Engine, Agent Steel) on lead guitars, James Sherwood (Prymary) on bass, and Chris Quirarte (Prymary) on drums. Despite the sky-high expectations for The Fullness of Time – the group’s sophomore full-length – it still delivers a riveting hour of music.

Whether you like it or not, The Fullness of Time follows progressive standards to the letter. The musicianship, naturally, is of the loftiest caliber, and most of the songs last upwards of five or six minutes. The anomaly is “Sapphire,” which turns out to be Redemption’s lengthiest number at sixteen minutes. The last four songs, or parts rather, compose the title track “The Fullness of Time.” But perhaps the weakest attribute of this record, though, is the lyrical content of “Parker’s Eyes,” because it deals with the events surrounding September 11th. So isn’t this song about three or four years too late? Plus, that tragedy’s relevance has been exhausted due to its prevalent usage. At any rate, the instrumentation is marvelous, and Redemption run parallel to fellow proggers Fates Warning and Symphony X on The Fullness of Time.

Lamentably, for me, I’ve never had the pleasure of reveling in 2002’s Redemption, so I don’t know how the former stacks up against this latest excursion. However, this album is undeniably strong, and yet another redeeming factor is the artwork, which was composed by none other than our own Travis Smith. Methinks Sensory Records is having a great year with Circus Maximus and Redemption both standing at the forefront of the progressive movement. And, this sure beats the hell out of the new Dream Theater.

8/10

Official Redemption Website
Official Sensory Records Website
Official Sensory Records Forum

 

[Kenneth R.]

good review. i'd give it a 6 or 7, given their first album's content... Imo this was a step down. I'd agree that the instrumentation and delivery is flawless, but lyrically it's quite weak overall. it has a few good lines, but even those are mostly cliches with a new twist. the thing that really drives down my score would be the "sameness" of the album. unlike their first, this one fits (as you so aptly put) "the progressive standards" and once you've heard the first track, you've pretty much heard the entire disc, riff&rhythm wise. it doesn't change-up at all. they might as well have made it one big track. my personal opinion is, it's not progressive if it doesn't progress, and i found this album lacking quite a bit of that.

still, ignoring the expectations after their first album, and that this is supposed to be progressive, it's a very good metal disc. and i agree that it certainly blows away Octavarium.

 

[circus_brimstone]

Thanks for reading!