THOUGHT SPHERE: Vague Horizons CD A la Queensr¿che during the Empire era. Check all songs, entire album

Description

This is the second CD of the German prog-metal band. The album opens with a melancholic keyboard piece, featuring a string setting and a violin, serving as an intro to both the album and the second piece, the prog metal track Like An Angels´ Choir, best comparable to Queensrÿche during the Empire era. This is basically the style in which most of the tracks on the album are written, deviating from their previous album Edens Shore. This track contains some nice breaks and is generally entertaining, with relatively good vocals and instruments. The guitar melodies are somewhat simplistic at times, though, but the solos are of sufficient level. The next track, Ascending, continues this style. The track flows into Clouds Beneath , which starts with a splendid uptempo saxophone solo (which returns in several places in the track).These little extra accents give the album something special. Edenquest has a catchy chorus, as do most of the songs. The choruses still stick in your mind after a couple of listenings. The title track is maintaining this Empire style, it is a good rock track, with a nice guitar middle section. Pinions Ablaze is a bit heavier and more theatrical. This is more truly prog metal than the previous tracks and I like it better, therefore. Shadowweaver´s Realm is calmer, ballad-like, but also more proggy, with a heavy middle section. Now the album gains momentum: Tragic Kingdom has a funky bass line, and features different rhythms during the track and many interesting gliding chord changes, giving it finally the feel of true prog. The album then quietens down on A New Beginning. It is a calm, melodic piece, where bass and guitar play together to create a calm moody atmosphere. The subtle saxophone and the jazzy melody only adds to this mood. Its a good thing they play the track through like this and not give in to the temptation of suddenly breaking into some heavy piece. They wait for that until the next track, Thoughtsphere 2000, a nice hard rock track, a bit Maiden-like, but with Dream Theater-like interludes (although not as complex). Then a short, quasi-classical piece follows to end the album.

Check all songs, entire album:
http://thoughtsphere.bandcamp.com/album/vague-horizons

line up:
Andreas Lohse: vocals
Adrian Weiss: guitar
Jens Schäfer: guitar
Goran Vujic: bass
Andreas Lösche: drums

Recorded and mixed January/February 2000
by Rudi Kronenberger & ThoughtSphere at Crownhill Studio, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Mastered by Kai Blankenberg at Skyline Studio, Düsseldorf.
1. Approach … (Intro) 01:16
2. Like An Angels Choir 05:43
3. Ascending 05:20
4. Clouds Beneath 04:14
5. Edenquest 05:31
6. (Nothing But) A Vague Horizon 05:28
7. Pinions Ablaze 03:48
8. Shadowweavers Realm 05:38
9. Tragic Kingdom 03:57
10. A New Beginning (Instrumental) 05:05
11. Thoughtsphere 2000 04:22
12. …withdrawal (Outro) 01:23