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If you still don't know the English Dutchman (or is it Dutch Englishman?) Ian Parry, you must have been on Jupiter for 25 years because this is his 21st album. He is int. al. known from Elegy, Ayreon, Vengeance and of course this Consortium Project. With the help of Stephan Lill (Vanden Plas), Niels Vejlyt (Infinity Overture), Veith Offenbächer (Dawn of Destiny), Kris Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation), Jens Faber (Dawn of Destiny), Casey Grillo (Kamelot) and numerous other guests there is no doubt about the musicianship on this album. An other and most important thing that should be good too, is the songs. Even the best musicians can't make it a good album when the songs suck.

Fortunately Ian knows all the answers and has scribbled some good tracks. "Life on Earth" starts with no surprises. The vocals of Ian are so typical Ian that a deaf guy can recognize them out of a thousand others. I know that there are people who don't like his sound, and I can understand that. It has always been a matter of taste. Because of his vocals, the music immediately reminds me of Elegy and all the other bands/albums he has performed. Fortunately there is a lot more to enjoy on this album. The songs have a certain epic, sometimes orchestral and bombastic sound. The guitar riffs have a nice crunch and the album has a certain metal vibe. Sometimes the songs are rather heavy, but on the other hand there are more melodic, progressive, choir singing and even some gothic elements.

If you ask me, this is Ian's most heavy, most bombastic and biggest achievement so far. An excellent combination of metallic sounding riffs and bombastic progressive music. With the title 'Species' the theme of the album should be clear to you I guess. Fans of all the things Ian did before will have pleasure with this album. Don't know the man yet? This is a good album to join.

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