This is a progressive hard rock
feast, and not since the still unreachable 'Snow' masterpiece has an
album with Neal Morse's big influence impressed me so much. 'Snow'
did
sadly also mark the end of Neal Morse and Spock's Beard as a
collaboration, and neither Neal Morse solo nor Spock's Beard has
since been able to capture the magic created with that album.
The musical feast head chef Neal
Morse has cooked together for us, has so many interesting
ingredients, its spicy, hot and extremely well prepared. The meal
consists of 3 main courses with the 3 epic songs: "The Door"
(29:44), "The Conflict" (25:00) and "The Conclusion" (16:34).
"Heaven in my Heart" (5:11) is the light course, a nice ballad with
piano and a string section.
Inspired by the life of the
Augustinian monk Martin Luther and his 95 theses, Neal has created
an outstanding album, ably supported by drum legend Mike Portnoy
(Dream Theater) and bassist Randy George. But it's the addition of
one the most underrated guitar players around: Paul Gilbert (ex-Mr.
Big) that really elevates this album to the next level. His
technical skills and tasteful playing throughout the album is
outstanding.
The album has a crystal clear and
very warm sound that fits the music perfectly, and I continue to
discover new things each and every time I listen to this brilliant
piece of rock. I can only give this timeless work of art my
strongest recommendations.
