Majesty & Passion

This CD is surprisingly good. Unlike his first effort, which came across (to me at least) as chaotic and mind numbing, on this CD he toned it down slightly and made a more organized effort.

I'm not really educated about prog, my prog collection amounting to Savatage (and the related projects), Dream Theater, Symphony, Pink Floyd, Derek Sherinian, Planet X, Ulver, and King Crimson. I will say this, though -- Victor Smolski can hold his own easily against the aforementioned, and this CD is littered with technicality and class.

First and foremost, Mike Terrana is a beast of a drummer. He might have a silly mullet, but he's a beast of a drummer. Secondly, this is the best integration of classical and metal that I've ever heard. Jon Oliva's solo project does a pretty good job, as does Yngwie and Dark Moor, but this blows this out of the water. This is more classical than it is metal, but it does have its share of mind-blowing guitar solos, some clean, some distorted. In fact, some of Dragonforce's trademark guitar solo tricks are featered prominently in some songs, however, the difference is that they are done tastefully and, in my humble opinion, better on this CD than any half assed DragonForce CD.

If I sound incoherent with this review, this stuff is hard to review. The instrumentiation seems to be done deliberately to throw you off, as it changes greatly, often within seconds. However, that doesn't detract from the music, which shines through in blinding clarity. Recommended to anybody who likes metal and classical with emphasis on classical.