ProgMetalFan said:
Tangerine Dreamer: could you offer us your thoughts on the new albums by Iron Maiden, Mars Volta, Tangent and Sun Caged?
Certainly.
Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death
Oh boy, where should I begin? ok the songwriting... it is terrible to be honest. The titletrack is a good example of a new maiden "epic", it goes nowhere and is musically very uninteresting. Bruce sounds horrible too, I almost shed a tear while listening to the titletrack... that's how bad he sounds to my ears. Another big failure is the production. The music sounds like it could have been by any garage band out there. One of the worst-sounding CDs I've ever heard.
Sun Caged
This one is much better. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's one of the best progmetal albums ever (I've heard this alot), but definitely one of the best from recent years. First of all, this is exactly how the music should sound: huge, energetic wall of sound which hits you to the face right from the start. The band has a good sense of melody making some songs very accessible even after the first listening. Of course there is well enough technical complexity to satisfy those who look for something from that department also. The singer has a minor accent that only adds to the enjoyment of the CD. Overrall, a very good release.
Tangent - The Music That Died Alone
I bought this one simply because I had read some good reviews and I noticed that David Jackson of VDGG-fame was a part of the lineup. Apart from the opening song (which sounds a lot like Flower Kings and for obvious reason), the music is wonderfully retro-spiritual, full of 70s prog atmosphere, but with a modern sound of course. To be honest I wasn't hooked by the album and after three listenings I'm still not sure if this is a good release or not. It lacks originality, I guess.
The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium
This was a blind purchase, but proved to be a good one. It seems to be a mixture of different kind of styles and calling it a "prog-album" would be a mistake. This album is hard to descripe...
I hear Faith No More, King Crimson and even Dream Theater. The music gets very aggressive and rhythmic fireworks every now and then, then mellowing down to more acoustic-driven material. I need to listen to this one more... only two times so far, but there's something cool about the whole album and I can't place my finger on it yet.