Review of Ellipsis - Comastory

Haven't you ever wondered what goes through the head of a coma victim? Well, Ellipsis does. In fact, Comastory is a concept album with that idea in mind. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Too bad the album doesn't deliver an enjoyable experience along with the basis of the concept. Instead it's a boring ride through the progressive metal kingdom.
The first song, "Coma", starts off with some muddled speaking layered with some samples. Right now one is curious as to what may come next, waiting in anticipation for the music to ensue. After the odd beginning hits a sudden stop, a basic guitar kicks in with some ambient keyboards and some cool bass work. So far there's nothing too exciting, and we play the short waiting game for the vokills to kick in. That's where any sense of enjoyment I might have had with this album ended. The main vokillist uses power metal/progressive styles, but they are oozing with cheese. I will give him the fact that he has a very impressive vokill range, hitting some very high notes (hell, there's even some death growls in there, they may be bland and boring, but they're in there), but ultimately the whole ordeal comes across as ultra-cheesy. I think the thing that really did it in for me was the laughable chanting that seemed to make appearances throughout the album. This is quite a shame since some of the music behind is pretty enjoyable. There are some cool melodic guitar riffs and atmospheric keyboards. The thing I liked the most though was the bass work. I think the bassist actually plays more leads than the guitarist, and they're good leads at that. I always enjoy some good bass work, and the walks and grooves come across perfectly. So if nothing else, my hat goes off to him and I really liked the last song of the CD, "Mountains of the Chameleon", which is just a really laid back and flowing instrumental with same impressive melodic guitar leads and a bit of spoken word.
If you're a progressive nut, you'll probably dig this because I'm sure the vokills won't dissuade you for a second. For those of us who can only enjoy so many slices of cheese in one sitting, it's best to stay away from this disc; for listening to this is like downing 64 slices of individually wrapped cheddar in an hour.

Release Details

Ellipsis

Comastory

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