The Fullness of Time

There are some things in this world that we may simply never know. We may never figure out how to properly unify relativity and quantum mechanic, or why the Cubs are incapable of winning the World Series. We will certainly never know just how you can put Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder into a band with Agent Steel guitarist Bernie Versailles and end up with an album this offensively horrible.

Who, exactly, was Redemption trying to appeal to here? Heavy metal fans? Really? I don't know what I missed, but last time I checked this album lacks essentially all of the staples of a good heavy metal album. Memorable riffs? Nah, none of those are found here; there are second-rate Symphony X knockoffs aplenty, to be sure, but really nothing you'll care to come back and listen to again. Passionate or aggressive vocals? Again, no. Don't approach this expecting Ray Alder to belt out anything as chilling as Part of the Machine or as gripping as A Pleasant Shade of Gray. Instead, we're treated to what sounds like Ray's very best imitation of a failed pop-rock vocalist, complete with sappy pseudo-emotional whining about relationships and morals and all that nonsense, all saccharine enough to make even the sissiest Euro-power vocalist blush. Competent songwriting? You guessed it, that's absent, as well. The album's token epic, Sapphire, manages to drag on for around 15 minutes, yet it already sounds tired after barely two. Do I really need to go on? There's almost nothing a fan of heavy metal would enjoy here.

I could spend the rest of this review on a track-by-track deconstruction of the album, but why bother? The majority of it isn't so unbelievably terrible as it is horribly bland and unmemorable, and punctuated by absolutely godawful vocals - check out Ray Alder's sad attempts at aggression on Scarred (he could pass as an angsty "alternative metal" vocalist, for sure!) or the pathetic melodrama of Parker's Eyes ("sweet unruined innocence?" Shoot me now, please). Bernie Versailles can (and does) solo away all he wants, but alas, even his guitar wizardry is powerless to save this mess. If these were the only problems, though, I wouldn't be quite so venomous towards this album.

Nope, to really understand what makes this album is such a miserable, irredeemable failure, one has to look to the final track. Past the embarrassingly pompous title (The Fullness of Time Part IV: Transcendence. Really, that's not even pompous in that endearing Virgin Steele way, it's just sad) lies some of the worst music ever to be called "progressive metal." I'm not sure it's worth listing exactly how many ways this song goes wrong, but if you listened to this without vomiting somewhere between the stupid minute-long piano intro and The Worst Vocal Layering in the History of Metal (trust me, you'll know it when you hear it), you are a stronger-willed man than I. This isn't just bad. This isn't just worthless. This transcends (har har) all criticism and reaches a new, indescribable low of horrid, trite, sappy shit. No, this is not progressive metal. To be progressive metal it has to sound like, well, heavy metal. This is Disney music with distorted guitars. Sorry, no album containing this song could get above a 20% from me, regardless of the rest of the content. This is a disgrace, a blemish on the face of the entire genre. Nothing can excuse it.

Perhaps even more disappointing is that this could have so easily been a good album. Everything was set up properly for this band to take off - an all-star lineup and solid debut (even containing what I'd consider one of the best progressive metal tracks of the past decade), and instead of soaring, Redemption made this...thing. Perhaps this might have been avoided if Redemption hadn't booted Rick Mythiasin in favor of Ray Alder (whose horrid vocal performance is largely to blame for this being such an insufferable mess of an album), a move which made about as sense as Fates Warning's removal of John Arch for the same man nearly 20 years prior, but speculation as to what could have been does nothing to change the album at hand. Ultimately what we have here is a really, really bad album by a band which can (and should) do better. Shameful, really. Better luck next time.

Redemption's "The Fullness of Time" comes at a time where several progressive metal bands have released some great albums. In the past three years, Symphony X, Nevermore, and Evergrey have released at least one unbelievable album. What sets these bands apart is that while most progressive metal bands are progressive first, metal second, the complete opposite is true for these three. This also applies to "The Fullness of Time." That is not to say that there aren't progressive parts, but there are numerous opportunities to headbang as well. Oh, did I mention that Ray Alder of Fates Warning fame is on vocals?

The album kicks off with "Threads," with heavy riffing and double bass before a moving keyboard melody smoothly enters. Heavy, yet melodic throughout. This is a great song, and certainly would have been a candidate for best song had this album not been so strong.

"Parker's Eyes" ups the melody quotient as well as being possibly the best song lyrically. The song is indirectly written to Ray Alder's son, Parker. Here, Alder is talking to Parker, looking into his eyes, wondering what it is like to know life before 9/11, to not know about all these politicians that are tearing America apart. It's a strong song and the emotional soloing only makes it better.

"Scarred" gets off to a slow start by immediately kicking into a fairly weak riff, but the song certainly gets better, especially when Alder's angry vocals kick in. The soloing is fantastic, but really that can be said for all five songs on this disc. More good lyrics, and finally some tasteful keyboard soloing amidst all the guitar frenzy.

It is the song "Sapphire," though, where the guitar frenzy is the highest, which is ironic because it is also the strongest melodically too. 14:00+ times can allow you to do that. Great chorus, superb solo section, and lyrics that once again are surprisingly strong, despite being about the commonly cliched subject of relationships. Few bands can write a song over 10 minutes and have it be any good.

Even fewer bands can write a 20+ song and have it be any good. Names that come to mind are “The Odyssey” by Symphony X and “A Change of Seasons” by Dream Theater. Well, you can add the title track to that list because it is truly phenomenal. Ray Alder adds his strong melodic choruses, uses some angry vocals, and is probably the best aspect of the song. The guitar and keyboard soloing is still there, but on a lesser scale. “Rage” and “Despair” flow perfectly into each other, while “Release” is probably the strongest suite out of the four; mainly because it is a good enough to stand alone as a separate song. “Transcendence” is probably the weakest because it doesn’t fit; the mood is all of the sudden “happy,” and just seems out of place. Not really a bad song (or section or whatever), but certainly the weakest track on the disc.

On the whole, bringing in Ray Alder was a huge success. Hearing this CD reminds me kind of what I expected Fates Warning to sound like when I first learned of their existence a little over a year ago. Although he sounds a bit strained at times (the chorus of “Sapphire”) and he sounded a little better on FW’s “FWX,” the music here is so much better and Alder seems to be the missing piece of Redemption’s figurative puzzle. One thing that could use improvement though, is the guitar sound, especially on the solos. It isn’t really bad production; the sound just isn’t bold enough to fully take advantage of the amazing solos heard throughout. Still, that is only a minor complaint. This would easily be the best metal release of 2005 had it not been for Nevermore’s incredible “This Godless Endeavor.” Still, Redemption have something special here; and it should be experienced by all progressive and heavy metal fans.

It really is surprising that there are no reviews yet for Redemption. Well, I’m here to correct that.

There are two things to get out of the way rightaway here:

1. The Fullness of Time is one amazing album
2. Nick Van Dyk is a genius.

Progressive metal is fast becoming overcrowded, with bands trying to complicate their compositions by relying all too often on instrumental noodling. You won’t find any of that here. Redemption is a breath of fresh air. The members are all incredibly talented musicians, no doubt. But it’s the way the music, especially the keyboards, is used to create exquisite and sublime atmospheres. Indeed, there’s an unrelenting focus on the songs. Of course, there are a lot of instrumental breaks and solos, but they always fit the songs and never seem out of place. The same could not be said of their previous album where some songs had a tendency to wander a bit aimlessly. In fact, Nick himself lamented how the lyrics in some songs in the self-titled album reduced to “he did this, and then he did that”, although one could argue whether that really is a criticism given the themes of those songs.

But talking about Nick, he’s a genius. Again he writes pretty much all the songs, handles lead and rhythm guitars and the keyboards; and does a damn good job out of it all too. I do not know much about Prymary, and was quite apprenhensive of the new bassist and drummer. Well, as soon as I heard the brutal yet melodic “Threads”, I knew I did not have to worry. They fit the band like a glove. And Ray Alder needs no introduction. However, he puts up one of his best performances here. Keyboards and guitars here are more often that not used to create large soundscapes rather than compact solos. Even if they are compact, they create emotions in the listener that persist long after that instrumental passage is over. However, it is amazing how accessible this release is compared to a lot of progressive metal albums out there.

Anything that was wrong in the first album, it’s corrected here. “Threads” is one masterclass on how to make a kickass opening track. The marriage of melody, speed and brutality must be heard and is surely a match made in metal heaven. Chris’s performance is impeccable on this one, providing more than admirable support for the guitars with great variation and fills. Great performances all round.

Things then slow down a bit with “Parker’s Eyes” which is an emotional song about the current world events such as 9/11 and the loss of innocence. Ray Alder’s vocals really shine here, and help in hammering the message home. The keyboards also weave beautifully in and out of the music, creating a sublime feeling of melancholy and resignation. The guitar solos, the breakdown and then the slow buildup to the ending chorus are very tastefully done.

Next up is “Scarred”. It’s also the heaviest song on the album with aggressive lyrical themes. To me, this is probably the only weak point on the album. Don’t get me wrong, the song still has some very good ideas, but they just do not seem fully developed. Again everyone puts out very good performances, but this song just does not live up to the others in the album. This is one of the places where the album loses some points.

“Sapphire”. This song could just be described by soulful performances by all members of the band. And you know what that means? Total ownage! Beautiful lyrics, mindblowing solos, emotional vocals. Everything fits here. It’ll be hard for Redemption themselves to do a song like this again. Yes, it’s that good.

Then we have “The Fullness of Time” suite, which consists of four songs; “Rage”, “Despair”, “Release” and “Transcendance”. The lyrics are about being betrayed, the resulting depression and coming out a stronger person, and they’re something anyone can relate to. The songs flow remarkably well, even more so that the “Desperation” suite in the previous album. Rage showcases Alder’s angry vocals which is interesting to hear. The music is fast and heavy to provide the required atmosphere. Despair is a simple, short and sweet song; something that Redemption could probably do whenever they wanted and still sound good. The last two songs are the better of the four however. They both deal about falling into depression but finding the strength to come back again. “Release” has a brilliant chorus and solo section. The beginning keyboard melody in “Transcendence” is sublime and soothing. Lyrics are again very well written, great performances and the well-employed use of vocal layering finishes the album in style. Well, I could go on listing everything that’s good, but that’s not important.

What is important is that by now, you should know that Redemption have made an album worthy of being in any metalhead’s collection. Move over Dream Theatre, Symphony X etc… If Redemption proved themselves as a force to be reckoned with in progressive metal with their first album, they conquer the genre with this one.