Incredibly heavy, progressive and polished.........
Joel Israel | Cedar City, UT United States | 08/20/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I had been wanting to pick this one up for quite a while, and finally took the time to order....and I must say I have not been as satisfied with a new prog-metal band as this since the "Sun Caged" debut. I am a huge fan of the genre; and since Dream Theater, everyone trying to emulate that formula basically sounds like they are trying to copy them.Prior to Dream Theater, I grew up on bands like Metallica (circa "Master of Puppets" and "...And Justice for All") and loved the intricacy, musicianship and heaviness combined with intelligent lyrics and epic song structure. I was horribly disappointed with the fact that Metallica subsequently seemed to "give up", and release poppy, watered-down radio-metal that just left me bored. Dream Theater picked up the ball and ran with it from there, and now many other bands have picked up the gauntlet. With Prototype, two things are certain; one,these guys are smart and talented, and two, they clearly grew up on old "prog" Metallica. The band on this album basically sounds like a much more progressive Metallica (especially in vocals.....the singer could be James Hetfield) with interesting science-fiction-based lyrical content and sound clips(one is from the film adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune"....frickin' awesome!!!). Comparisons aside, this album shreds! Highly recommended for fans of the genre...I wish I had picked this up years ago when released. (Sorry guys.....). As for the other reviewer who complained about an "emo" vocal style? Uh......OK.
"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1
