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September is going to be Christmas times ten for progressive music fans; new albums from Pain of Salvation, Mastodon, Textures, The Tangent, Anathema, Redemption, Steve Hackett, Subsignal, Steven Wilson, Opeth, Dream Theater and Arch/Matheos. But who will be victorious in the battle? One of the clear favourites has to be the powerhouse of John Arch and Jim Matheos who are working together for a second time since John left Fates Warning. The "A Twist of Fate" EP from 2003 proved why the combination of the two for many to this day stands as the pinnacle of progressive metal. Even today many do rightfully consider "Awaken the Guardian" as a cornerstone of progressive metal and one the most influential progressive metal albums of all time. And "Sympathetic Resonance" captures the spirit of the three Fates Warning albums John and Jim did together and some... And nothing has been left to chance; joining the them to form this new super-group are: Joey Vera on bass (Armored Saint, Anthrax, Fates Warning) and Bobby Jarzombek on drums (Halford, Fates Warning, Sebastian Bach, Riot) and together they form one the best rhythm sections imaginable! Frank Aresti (Fates Warning) contributes with some additional guitar leads just to add to the suspense. What began as compositions for the next FW album sounds modern, harder and more complex than "FWX" and "Disconnected" and Jim has composed a new milestone in progressive metal; a timeless and simply magnificent album. Six brilliant songs, each showing new aspects of the band; which really excels on this album. John sings better than ever, the riffs, licks and leads are the best ever from mastermind Matheos, the bass work is simply brilliant and the drumming is out of this world. Each song stands out and the end result is one motherf**king great album. "Sympathetic Resonance" sets the bar for progressive metal in 2011 and is in my book this month's clear winner and a very strong contender for Album of the Year. | ||||||||||||||||||
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