Space Odyssey new album review.

Wyvern

Master of Disaster
Staff member
Nov 24, 2002
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As I promised here's the review to the new album of Richard Andersson side project to Time Requiem. Fans of neo-classical stuff and prog metal surely will enjoy this material.

‘Through Time And Space’: neat opener. Very much neo-classical by the book stuff, where Nils vocals make a good counterpoint to the music, used to high pitched singers. His Dio-esque approach surely takes this album beyond so many ones in the sub-genre.


‘Astral Episode’: starts in an ominous way, and then delivers into more than simple neo-classic IMO. Good progressive elements are incorporated sanitizing the song beyond the common formula. Vocals and back vocals create a great atmosphere that blends perfectly with the large instrumental parts. I feel the songwriting to have grown a lot.



‘Lord Of The Winds’: Nils shows what he’s capable of on a song that surely doesn’t sound like an overexercise in keyboard playing. Actually the keys are so tamed that they didn’t show prominence until the second part of the instrumental section. So far the song I like the best because of originality.



‘Dazzle The Devil’: very early Malmsteen (which is good in my book), until Nils vocals set the song apart. Not totally Dio-esque by moments, so detractors of the guy can shut up. The melody flows so nice that makes close your eyes and enjoy, one of the finest moments of the album. Magnus Nilsson guitar work surely stands tall along with Andersson keys, and shows the feeling in the outro of the song.



‘Back To The Dark’: a darker mid-tempo song, Nilsson who also doubles as bass player in this album shows he’s very capable of set a nice base work. The mood of the keys is also tamed to avoid drift from the base, as well as the guitar work (reminds me of ‘Dark Mirror’ for sure).



‘Presence Of Mind’: the shortest of the album is also an instrumental in which Andersson, Nilsson and new drummer Brobjer take time showing their work without flashiness.



‘Reversation’: more neo-classical quality in an album that refuses to yield. Beautiful vocal melodies are the companion of the guitar and the keyboards, ready to sit and enjoy with calm.



‘The Seventh Star Fantasy’: cool ambiental chorus start the last song of the album. The riff is heavy, while the keys give back support. And Nils vocals start much in the vein of his work with Wuthering Heights, playing two voices singing to each other. The whole song is indeed a fantasy piece, the different segment interact to giver a deeper sensation of a stage production.
 
Man your reviews are great. I like it how you review the album song by song. That must take a whole lot of time to do. This album is sure a winner for me.
 
Hawk said:
Man your reviews are great. I like it how you review the album song by song. That must take a whole lot of time to do. This album is sure a winner for me.

I agree Hawk ! That is a great review and it makes me want to buy the release. Sounds pretty cool !!


Bryant
 
Out of curiosity, are the lyrics all "space" themed? That's kinda been a turn-off to me when some other bands have tried it...
 
Hawk and Bryant: thanks a lot for the kind words. Yes it does take time, but I believe that being part of UMOS is like the social contract, and I have to give back something in return for the privilege of being here.

wdiv: Good question, I don't know! I don't have the lyrics so my guess is as good as yours. I don't think they're going to be as good as the Star One lyrics, but I'm sure that the music does the talking on this one.
 
Wyvern said:
I believe that being part of UMOS is like the social contract, and I have to give back something in return for the privilege of being here.
Wyvern, you are such a class act. We are so alike (except you like all that happy "power" metal stuff!). I felt the same obligation once I found a home here and that's why I jumped right on making the title graphic for this forum. It was my way of giving back to those who give to me.

You could take this a step further and let the masses read your reviews on Amazon.com. I know you're "pre" reviewing but since you got them typed up, save them and paste them into an Amazon review after they are released. There, you're preaching to an audience of millions...and trust me, they need guidance.

Aside from you guys, Amazon is probably the site I use most often when discovering new bands. It is a vast library of outwardly branching metal avenues.
 
Thanks for the kind words TSO. Indeed your contribution with the banner has paid already all dues ;) (now we owe you).

As for Amazon can be intersting even if I never buy anything from them, I prefer CDUniverse in terms of price. I had discovered that even with S&H it comes cheaper than Amazon free > $25.
 
Yeah, you don't have to shop at Amazon to post reviews. You can post anonymously, although it's alot more fun to make a personae for yourself and they build a database automatically for all your reviews.

Important thing is that you get the message out to the largest number of people possible. Amazon is the powerhouse when it comes to popularity and their database of "similar" bands is huge.