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This album is my canidate for the best album of 2004, and it snuck into my top ten cds of all times. With that said, some
might say that I am being too subjective in my choice, but I am the Judge and can do such a thing.
Their are two elements that make me love this cd. The first is the lyrical concept, and the second is the music, and if
you want to throw off my math, I could say that the combination of the two equals a third way to enjoy this cd, which is as
a whole cd.
The disc starts out with a discussion of how do you know that you exist, and if you do in fact exist, how do you find
meaning in such? After posing such a large question, the listener might tune out, and not want to take this journey. But,
they are automatically taken on a journey through history, via the music. the first song is a folk song, This gives you the
feeling of men and women sitting around a fire, having a conversation in song. The next song is a dark orchestral work, in
which you sense the chaos that the question of Being gives you. It then continues on with some more progressive metal songs,
and also has an old negro slave song tucked in there. The album works together in a way that many bands fail at. There is
not a moment when I find a piece out of place. My only complaint, musically, is that at some of the heavier moments, Daniel's
voice borders on a nu-metal sound. The music is never there, and it really is not a nu-metal vocal line, it is more of a
progressive vocal line stolen by nu-metal.
On the other side, their is the concept, which excited me. As someone with a degree in Philosophy, and pursuing that further,
it makes me happy to see people explore their philosophical\ethical problems in an intelligent way, and making it central
to their album. For one to understand the album, they have to read the booklet first. In that, there are no lyrics, but an
explination of the concept, so that you do not need to be in academia to understand what is going on. It also has a selected
bibliography, and reccomended reading for those that want to explore this concept more. It also gave me an understanding of
where the band was coming from, which was very helpful.
Therefore, my judgment is not for this album, but for those that have not listened to it, or have listened but not fully
appriciated it. I sentence them to listen to this masterpiece, and recognize the beauty inside of it.
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