With Zero Hour on extended hiatus the virtuoso Tipton twins, consisting of Jasun on guitars and Troy on bass, expanded their musical horizons with some other projects, including Abnormal Thought Patterns and Cynthesis. With the latter they have just released a second album, entitled ReEvolution. Let’s see what it has to offer.
With ReEvolution the Tipton twins pretty much continue where they left off with DeEvolution. It’s still all about vocal-driven progressive metal where the band’s instrumental prowess is mostly used to augment the song material. Besides the occasional instrumental outburst this album hasn’t much to offer in terms of (excessive) solo spots. What ReEvolution does offer is high quality progressive rock with a metallic edge. Especially singer Erik Rosvold shines on tracks like ‘The Grand Facade’, ‘A Most Trivial Pursuit’ and a ‘Noble Lie’. The dark atmosphere is reminiscent of Evergrey (Recreation Day/The Inner Circle) while the progressive and technical undercurrent should make Symphony X very happy.
ReEvolution may not be an instant prog classic, but it has enough to offer in terms of well-rounded and balanced song material brought with a flair and confidence few other bands can match. Fans of (older) Evergrey and Symphony X should really check this album out.
8/10
Raymond Westland