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: : REVIEW : :
Ulysses is a new progressive metal band from The Netherlands with a standard
five-piece lineup, and the production is quite good. And the musicianship
usually isn’t sloppy… except for the vocals. Mostly lacking harmonies, each track
comes complete with a loud wailing vocal melody, which is very hard on the ears,
especially considering the dubious pitches. There are practically no harmonies on
the entire album, and I don’t know if that’s because the singer is so in love with
his voice or because it’s impossible to harmonize with such a spotty lead
performance. But as someone who always misses harmonies when they are absent, this
issue takes it down.
That’s too bad, because nothing else on this album is nearly
as bad as that. The songs are long
and plentiful, often rocking out for long instrumental passages. It sounds like they really want to emulate Dream Theater,
despite lacking that kind of virtuosity, and they’re almost afraid to stray too far
from that formula. With such fine talent behind them on the production end, they should
work a little harder to create a product that stands out more, and more with their
own unique style.
The songs are very easy to categorize. There are long, heavy prog-metal tracks and
soft ballad-y songs. The rock tracks get a little monotonous, but they’re still the
ones I prefer to have on. “Unspoken Words” is the longest, and is the most elaborate
song, with its steady double kick drums, a welcome bass solo, and some very fun time
signature complexity. “Watching Over You” is a barebones ballad, with nothing but a
vocal, a piano, and a very, very lovely cello part. The song is sabotaged by the
reliance upon Jansen’s grating warble, as well as a lackluster chord progression
which has no place in progressive songwriting. “The Script” is more of a power
ballad, and again makes no attempt to toward anything truly progressive.
But it’s worth mentioning that I listened to this album quite a lot. If you like to
maintain a musical environment that is heavy in prog-metal riffs, this certainly
fits the bill. The production and most of the playing are very solid, and some of
the rhythms are fun. I think for their next album, they should try to impress us
more with the musical composition. And maybe use a pitch corrector. In time,
with the right vocalist, this band could grow to its potential. I look forward to
their next CD.
Rating: 7/10 Keyboards
Review by:
Bob Amaden
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Visit the artist website : :
http://www.ulysses-online.nl/
: : Discography : :
Eclectic - 2001
Symbiosis
- 2003
: : Record Label
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Eclectic Productions |
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