In
their home state of Texas Stride has gained a great reputation as a
great live band, and they made a successful performance at ProgPower VI
in Atlanta
in 2005. So are they able to capture their great live performances onto
an album? This
is btw. not Stride's first album - their first album from 2001 "Music
Machine" was an instrumental effort. But things have changed a bit,
and on this album their rather strange mix of AOR and progressive metal
comes alive with the addition of vocalist Gary Belin. To answer my own question: Yes, they've managed to
deliver a solid effort: 9 good songs, that I think should appeal to fans
of melodic prog metal fans. Fine guitar licks and riffs, nicely combined
with a solid rhythm section and Gary's polished voice, makes this album very
pleasurable. It's almost a given, when the artwork has been done by Mattias Norén - www.progart.com -, but I simply has to compliment him on the work here - outstanding. |
