Here's an ambitious effort in the progressive rock realm that shows a lot of musical, lyrical and graphic thought. This quartet, made up of three brothers (Vinny, Tony and Dominic Massaro) and a vocalist (Martin De Bourge), takes an intelligent approach to their craft. (Progressive rock has long been called "rock for the thinking man.")
The comparisons to Galactic Cowboys and Dream Theater are a bit misleading, though the band does possess plenty of musicianship and lots of harmonies. A comparison to Saviour Machine is probably a lot closer. Torman Maxt never progresses into the crunchy realms of heavy, heavy metal, although the power rhythms in "The Requiem" rock pretty hard. Longtime underground fans may remember a Yes-influenced band a few years back called Damascus. That's who this band reminds me of. The biggest obstacle holding this creative band back is the choice of vocal register by Mr. De Bourge. He often pushes himself into a pace that's too fast for his voice and a pitch too high.
Overall, we've got a superb sonic piece of art that gives you enough on every level to keep you busy listening. It is a concept album, for sure, yet each song really does stand on its own. My favorite is the melodic "Life Sketches I: Darkness," with its bagpipe sound accompaniment. The guitar highlight for me is in "Flowers," with its Randy Rhoads-like arpeggios.
