Strangers

This is an odd one. Is this metal at all? Or is it the soundtrack for a musical that doesn't exist?

The album opens with some a capella singing from the chorus. Then the main vocalist enters, and she happens to have a voice that wouldn't sound out of place on Broadway. The orchestra launches the overture: some violins, harpsichord, and a guitar. Finally, the vocalist introduces the theme of the musical that doesn't exist: estrangement and searching for connection in the modern world.

It's all so weird, and it gets weirder in the next track, "Break the Ice," which could be dropped without alteration into a musical. I can even imagine how it would be choreographed on stage. Just read the lyrics: "In a corner street I am standing on my own \ Time just froze around me and the city turned to stone \ Strangers pass me by as I am falling to the ground \ Wondering will I be found?" This kind of rhyming and imagery fits on stage.

I found myself wondering: is this metal at all? There are tracks with growling, so I suppose it must be. "Over" can't be anything but metal with its opening shriek. Still, this album helped me to realize that there isn't always a big gap between progressive metal and more traditional ballads.

Is the album good? Parts of it are a total jam. Everything through "Concrete Cages" is excellent, and I loved the addition of the hurdy-gurdy. By the end of the album, though, some of the band's weaknesses have become apparent. For an album that is so lyrically driven, the lyrics should be better. I like the manic energy of "Huts," but the message of that track is so stupid: "Wish we could live in wooden huts \ The last alternative before my heart's door shuts." It doesn't feel like a deep or thought-provoking critique of our modern world, because really, no one wants to go live in a hut. The band repeats the same cliched imagery across tracks, insisting that we are caged birds.

The metal tracks, ironically, are the least convincing to me. The hardcore act on "Over" feels labored.

This is not one of my favorite albums, but it's one of the most memorable that I have heard in a while, and I would recommend it to anyone.