Images of Eden - Sunlight of the Spirit

You know, I sometimes wonder if they pay people to write those early reviews for bands before their albums officially come out.  The bio sheet for Images of Eden hypes this band in incredible ways and offers up really positive reviews and comparisons to Queensryche and hailings of this being one of the greatest progressive metal offerings of all time.  

Anyways...you want my honest opinion?  That is a big bucket load of smelly crap!  While this band is very competent in it's musicianship, the songs are for the most part pretty boring and the vocals make me cringe.  And that's putting it nicely.  Despite popping this album in my CD player numerous times, I've literally only been able to listen to it one time completely through without hitting the stop button cause it just lacks anything to keep me listening.  They may say this band is for fans of Queensryche, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Kansas, King Crimson, or Rush, but I think fans of those bands should probably just stay clear, cause this will be a substantial disappointment.  And the claims of this being a band that displays a lot of emotion...I don't know...just because a band screams at an emotional part in the lyrics doesn't mean they are a band that can be labeled as one that displays extreme amounts of emotion.  I just don't buy it here for the most part.  There are songs where this may the case, but most of it is just sub-par performances with strong dynamics within the songs mistaken for emotion.

Now before all you Images of Eden fans get your feelings all hurt, I'm not saying this band is horrible.  They have their moments and this is not a completely lame album, but the hype that their promotional company is doing is far from accurate.  Promote your band, but don't lift them up to standards they don't meet.  Every promotional company is going to promote their band a little better than they probably should.  That's what they are paid to do.  But to make claims that aren't even close to true just turns me off immediately.

Rating: 58/100

Review By: Matt Morrow

Label: Nightmare Records

Total Songs: 12

Total Time: 54:57

Tracklisting: 1. Ascension, 2. Kaleidoscope, 3. Beyond the Horizon, 4. To Live Another Day, 5. Dream Catcher, 6. A Midsummer Night's Dream, 7. Aladdin, 8. Sunlight of the Spirit Part I - Emerald Rain, 9. Sunlight of the Spirit Part II - I Remember When..., 10. Sunlight of the Spirit Part III - Through October Skies, 11. Ethereal, 12. Midnight's Tide

Best Songs: Tracks 6 & 11

Band Lineup: Gordon Tittsworth - Lead & Backing Vocals/Bass/Guitar/Keyboards, Dennis Mullin - Lead & Rhythm Guitars/Keyboards, Matt Kaiser - Drums & Percussion/Backing Vocals

Band Website: http://www.imagesofeden.com