Composer and multi instrumentalist Henning Pauly teams up here with vocalist James LaBrie, bassist Nik Guardagnoli and drummer Eddie Marvin.

A strong, heavy and technically fast sound, the opening two tracks are very prog metal, fast, flowing, interweaving keyboards and guitars, a touch of Queen.

There’s a range of styles here, almost soundtrack like. 'Spiders' adds more alternative and a nod at industrial, although the prog metal influence prevails.

'Messege From The Mountain' starts off oddly, but finally settles on the kind of thing Rhapsody are doing so much better (and bigger); it’s still enjoyable now.

We get acoustic and ballad moments, there is variety here. 'La Mer' mixes Yanni with a Bon Jovi ballad.

Some top moments, others are mixed, but on the whole pretty enjoyable.

***

Review by Joe Geesin

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly