Dionysus
Anima Mundi
6.3
God, this record is how they must be getting those Taliban guys to spill their guts down in Guantanamo or however you spell it. By the second listen I was searching for a Marine to surrender to.
I really don't choose these records. I just grab at random. I must be cursed. Maybe ever since I became a realist, Satan has taken offense at my insistence on his nonexistence and has plagued me with power metal reviews. Or maybe it's the God I don't believe in playing funny tricks on me for my arrogant disbelief. Either way, I find myself confronted with my second progressive hard rock masterpiece of shit this week. My drives to and from work have been below average.
OK, so DIONYSUS, the greek God of Self Love or Self Importance or something. And a long album filled with the same song three times, another song two times and then some other songs. Why they needed to include THREE FUCKING VERSIONS of "March for Freedom" other than they think people are chomping at the bit to hear them edit this thing three different ways I am not able to discern. But they did. And I say bravo. You can never get enough of the same crap song. But with the two versions of "Anima Mundi" you can sure as fuck try.
As to the meat of the album itself, I will say that this is inspired progrock or anachrometal, at least. The band has a panache and infectious energy, as well as the obligatory chops to accomplish all their grand technical designs. The singer is among the better I have heard in this format, although he can't seem to not take himself too seriously. The guitarists do what prog guitarists do: try to impress other prog guitarists. Rhythm section is adequate but not particularly exciting. And, they have a keyboardist, and he plays just like a prog metal keyboardist.
The songs have moments of interest, but are mainly just too long, too dated and too timid to get the metal in me moving. They go for anthemic and epic, but never actually attain either. The album is, as they all are, produced well. Everything but the bass is crystal clear.
Bottom Line: Sure, go grab it, progpower people. Enjoy. I bet you will, really. But I won't and I am starting to want to hunt you down and kill you fuckers for helping so many of these bands put out so many records I have to review. Which will no doubt cause you to up your purchase quotient just to spite me. Nothing changes, especially this style of boring crap music. Or its fans. So go forth and purchase this. It's what you want. Assholes.
