- Nov 30, 2004
- 186
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Ken, are you going to be bringing this one in on both CD and 2LP?
http://www.subsignalband.com/
Tito
http://www.subsignalband.com/
Tito
Subsignal - Touchstones
- Thread starter TitoC
- Start date
lasercd
Man Behind The Curtain
Man, I'm really looking forward to this one. Their last cd, "Beautiful & Monstrous" would probably be in my top 5 for the last 5 years.
Metman
Buffalo Bills /Mets/Rangers Fan
:Smokin:
:danceboy:
lasercd
Man Behind The Curtain
US release date. Its going to be the same discs but made available through a US distro. HUGE difference in price.
_Gentleman of_the Snow_
Prog' Drummer
Metman
Buffalo Bills /Mets/Rangers Fan
I actually really enjoyed ''Beatiful and Monstruous''.
A bit less progressive than Sieges Even, but I still listening to this album on a regular basis.
I would be happy if Touchstone would be as good as the first one.
A bit less progressive than Sieges Even, but I still listening to this album on a regular basis.
I would be happy if Touchstone would be as good as the first one.
_Gentleman of_the Snow_
Prog' Drummer
I found it to be one of those generic power/prog albums that does nothing different, or interesting at any point. I find 9 times out of 10, prog metal follows the same formula as this album, and it's getting beyond boring.
Thankfully, there are bands like Leprous out there...
Thankfully, there are bands like Leprous out there...
Lerpous is one of a kind indeed.
I dont really hear the prog metal formula with Subsignal, and personally don't consider it as a prog metal band anyway.
It is very very difficult today to find an album or band that is 100% original with no formula.
I personally think Subsignal has a pretty unique sound. Markus Steffen is an awesome guitarist, but to me the thing that sets them apart are Arno Menses vocals. I can't think of another band that sounds anything like them. Based on the sound samples I've heard, I think the new one will probably have a similar sound.
My review for Fireworks Magazine:
This debut album by this progressive metal band (half of whom used to ply their trade in Sieges Even) was reviewed here by my colleague Dean Pedley in issue 39. His summary suggested it was “sophisticated and accessible” and demonstrated “creativity and flair”. The album was called ‘Beautiful & Monstrous’ and clocked in at just over an hour. Well, I think they got it wrong. This album is over 75 minutes and really is beautiful and monstrous!
All of the adjectives used by Dean apply equally here and the template for the debut has been strengthened and to some extent, reformatted. The debut was tremendous; the follow-up is nothing short of utterly amazing, and I have found it difficult to want to listen to anything else! Emotional, melodic, hugely innovative, achingly beautiful and with dollops of melancholia, this is progressive metal of the highest order, laced as it occasionally also is with huge scything riffs and walls of sound that would make Symphony X at their most brash slink away into a corner. You’ll hear what I mean on tracks including ‘Echoes In Eternity’, ‘The Essence Called Mind’ and particularly at the start of ‘The Lifespan Of A Glimpse’ (not the usual glib song titles, are they?) and the lengthy title track. But unlike Symphony X there is so much more light and shade to offset these coruscating fragments in each of the songs mentioned.
Lead vocalist Arno Menses has one of the finest voices in this genre, hauntingly beautiful (the final three minutes of the title track is nothing short of utterly sensational) when required, but always charismatic and appropriate to the style of each song; he is also backed by truly splendid harmony support, so that over and over again I noted qualities akin to the harmonies found on the early classics by Yes. Vocally, this album is really special. But no less so is the quality of the song writing and of the detail that has gone into getting every little nuance of the instrumentation spot on. This would be to little avail if the album were not cloaked in one of the finest productions I have heard this year (and there have been some excellent ones).
This lengthy album doesn’t pall, and as familiarity with each track has grown over the many listens ‘Touchstones’ has delivered more and more of its aural secrets. The band has been strengthened by a real string section on some of the tracks, and female vocals might surprise you on ‘The Lifespan Of A Glimpse’ (although possibly less than I was because you know what to expect, and I didn’t first time around!)
If mesmerising, quality progressive metal is your thing, for goodness sake do not let this wonderful album pass you by…
Paul Jerome Smith
This debut album by this progressive metal band (half of whom used to ply their trade in Sieges Even) was reviewed here by my colleague Dean Pedley in issue 39. His summary suggested it was “sophisticated and accessible” and demonstrated “creativity and flair”. The album was called ‘Beautiful & Monstrous’ and clocked in at just over an hour. Well, I think they got it wrong. This album is over 75 minutes and really is beautiful and monstrous!
All of the adjectives used by Dean apply equally here and the template for the debut has been strengthened and to some extent, reformatted. The debut was tremendous; the follow-up is nothing short of utterly amazing, and I have found it difficult to want to listen to anything else! Emotional, melodic, hugely innovative, achingly beautiful and with dollops of melancholia, this is progressive metal of the highest order, laced as it occasionally also is with huge scything riffs and walls of sound that would make Symphony X at their most brash slink away into a corner. You’ll hear what I mean on tracks including ‘Echoes In Eternity’, ‘The Essence Called Mind’ and particularly at the start of ‘The Lifespan Of A Glimpse’ (not the usual glib song titles, are they?) and the lengthy title track. But unlike Symphony X there is so much more light and shade to offset these coruscating fragments in each of the songs mentioned.
Lead vocalist Arno Menses has one of the finest voices in this genre, hauntingly beautiful (the final three minutes of the title track is nothing short of utterly sensational) when required, but always charismatic and appropriate to the style of each song; he is also backed by truly splendid harmony support, so that over and over again I noted qualities akin to the harmonies found on the early classics by Yes. Vocally, this album is really special. But no less so is the quality of the song writing and of the detail that has gone into getting every little nuance of the instrumentation spot on. This would be to little avail if the album were not cloaked in one of the finest productions I have heard this year (and there have been some excellent ones).
This lengthy album doesn’t pall, and as familiarity with each track has grown over the many listens ‘Touchstones’ has delivered more and more of its aural secrets. The band has been strengthened by a real string section on some of the tracks, and female vocals might surprise you on ‘The Lifespan Of A Glimpse’ (although possibly less than I was because you know what to expect, and I didn’t first time around!)
If mesmerising, quality progressive metal is your thing, for goodness sake do not let this wonderful album pass you by…
Paul Jerome Smith
