I feel all warm and fuzzy inside when an album like this comes along. Bassist and chapman sticker Rob van der Loo (SUN CAGED) has put together what just might be the progressive metalhead’s wet dream. If the names of some of his guest musicians such as Steve DiGiorgio (DEATH, SADUS, TESTAMENT, oh, you know him), Sean Malone (CYNIC, GORDIAN KNOT, AGHORA) and James Murphy (DEATH, OBITUARY, CANCER, TESTAMENT, you know him too) mean anything to you, then you have some idea of what to expect, right? Actually, you’d be wrong, because you’re going to wind up getting a hell of a lot more for your dollar here.

What really set this album apart from other so-called progressive projects are two major aspects: one, the foundation of this one is the bass. I’ve always felt that the bass guitar is a highly underrated instrument in rock music, and having it in the forefront while maintaining a coherent musical vibe that even the casual fan can relate to is highly commendable. Second, the execution is superb. Like a lot of these projects, Mr. van der Loo wants to go for the “weird” thing with digital effects and unorthodox song structure, but here “weird” means “something that the listener has never heard before that keeps them interested from beginning to end” as opposed to “overpowering zaniness that alienates the listener”.

Oh, and do you want cohesive music drawing influence from all sorts of genres? Well, you’ve got it! Apart from the standard progressive metal wanking, you’ve got some grinding distorted bass with odd time signatures, similar to MESHUGGAH only more listenable. And yes, there’s plenty of jazz influence here—you know, in the way that CYNIC succeeded in doing it way back when. Hell, you’ll also get a bit of techno percussion (“I Understand”) which manages to sound appropriate. Even the vocals fit well here: you get traditional male metal vocals, growling, and beautiful female vocals…sometimes all three in the same song! Not even the ballad (“Beyond the Garden”) is boring, as the purdy vocals of Irene Jansen and the resonating taps of the chapman stick sound relaxing yet still intriguing. Everything is played masterfully, not just from Mr. van der Loo and his big name guest stars, but from the foundation of all the SUN CAGED and STAR ONE/AYREON members who play everything else.

Now this album actually came out way back in October of ’05 (yeah, I know, we’re only human at PDM), and had I heard this earlier it’s highly possible that this little gem would have wound up in my Top 10 list of the year. It’s that good. So I’m gonna do you a favor and shut the hell up now so you can do yourself a favor and start listening now.

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: www.robvanderloo.com

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