Fullness Of Time

Multi-instrumentalist Nick van Dyk's Redemption proved to be a great project with their 2003 debut featuring an impressive list of guest musicians, including members from Fates Warning and Symphony X. Nick van Dyk played pretty much every instrument on the album except the drums and the album was a huge success. Unfortunately, due to the weak production in spots, the album didn't reach its ultimate perfection, mainly because of Rick Mythiasin's poorly mixed vocals.

Now, almost three years later, Redemption is back. Things have changed quite a bit since then. While still primarily Nick van Dyk's band as he wrote all the music and lyrics himself, he has enlisted the services of Prymary bassist James Sherwood and drummer Chris Quirarte, retaining the amazing Bernie Versailles on second guitar and handling the keyboard stuff himself. Enter new singer - none other than the amazing Ray Alder from Fates Warning. Ray Alder's contribution to the album is immense. His singing actually sounds quite different from his work with Fates Warning or Engine. I assume that's because Nick van Dyk wrote all the music including the vocal melodies. Alder sure has added his quality to them though. His voice is warm and utterly emotive. He sings the lyrics with utmost conviction and tremendous clarity. He is simply like no other singer out there.

The album is comprised of two parts. The first four songs are the independent songs, starting with the highly energetic "Threads" where Chris Quirarte is at his drumming best laying down speedy, concise beats over a vague keyboard line and matching up Nick and Bernie Versailles' dense rhythm work. "Parker's Eyes" is a cerebral track whose lyrical content revolves around feelings of anger, despair and rage. The song touches on various themes including the 9/11 event and corrupt politics. "Scarred" is easily the heaviest track on the album - the main riff right at the beginning unleashes a wave of dense rhythm and it has an impossibly beautiful chorus. The song is dark, complex and heavy. I love the unison solo going on in the middle where Nick and Bernie Versailles really cut it loose. This track would fit seamlessly with any of the songs on Dream Theater's Awake. The epic tune, "Sapphire", starts out with plucked acoustic guitars and builds on and on until the breaking point at around 2:15. Ray Alder's rendition of the chorus during the "Treasures can slip through your fingertips" line is heart-stopping as is the subtle piano melody mixing up with awesome guitar cadences. The whole song, although 16 minutes long, never becomes repetitive, neither with its lyrics nor the music. I'm at loss for words. Simply incredible.

The title track is made up of four subtracks: "i. Rage", "ii. Despair", "iii. Release" and "iv. Transcendence". Put together, they take up more than 20 minutes of the album. All four cuts exemplify dark progressive metal with ethereal keys and pianos merging with raging guitars and an emotionally exhausting vocal performance. Each piece is quite varied in itself, as "Despair" contains a mildly exotic section rendered by amazing guitar melodies while Alder's vocals on "Release" intensify the already dark piano piece reminding me a little of Evergrey. "Transcendence" not only closes the album as a fitting piece alternating between heavy riffs and passionate keyboards, but it also leads to a theme of renewal. Nick van Dyk's lyrics show great improvement over his debut album. They are easy to relate to, thought-provoking and not even the least bit preachy.

Finally Tommy Newton, the producer known for his work with Conception and Ark, gives the album its warm and huge sound. I always thought Nick should work with someone like Neil Kernon whose impeccable production would add a lot to his music, but Newton is also an excellent choice. He gives so much clarity and power to the band's songcraft allowing everything to shine through without taking away from the surreally organic compositions. Travis Smith once again provides the dark artwork for the album. Mind you his work on the debut disc was also great, but I much prefer this one. The Fullness of Time sees Redemption taking a big leap and proving themselves as one of the best American prog metal bands.

I have been wanting to write a brief review of this CD since I first heard it back in late August. It took a little while to grow on me, but after listening for the last couple of months I discovered the treasures of this music. The main reason I decided to purchase it was because I am a huge fan of Fates Warning and with Ray Alder doing the vocals how could it miss! I was not familiar with the rest of these guys. The band does remind me of a cross between Dream Theater and Fates Warning, although I have to say that this CD is not quite as good as FWX. To me that was the ultimate Fates Warning CD. However, this CD is definately worth owning. Very interesting songs with lots of nice twists to the music, performed flawlessly.

Supergroups are a tough batch. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Redemption started off as one of these, but that's different now for the American prog-metal ensemble. With a new line-up, mastermind and guitarist Nick van Dyk has consolidated what is one of the most promising metal acts of the new millennium. Following in the footsteps of their rapid and powerful self-titled debut, "The Fullness of Time" kicks up the melody and the production.

The album opens with "Threads", a delectable prog-metal crusher. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to Symphony X, the first minute of the song journeys through pounding riffs, skyward keyboards and Ray Alder's (Fates Warning) spotless vocals. Singing only once in their previous album, Alder has taken over the position of frontman - and he does it wonderfully. In almost every song, van Dyk harmonizes Alder's vocals almost formulaically - but it works. The extremely melodic and touching "Parker's Eyes" is another 9/11 meditation (along the lines of Dream Theater's new "Sacrificed Sons"), ripe with the same continuous guitar accompaniments that we first heard on "Window to Space". The song balances an ominous verse with darker bridges and a profoundly touching chorus.

The songs get longer from there on. "Scarred" is a heavier number, which flaunts Alder's angry, gritty vocals (à la James LaBrie in Dream Theater's "Just Let Me Breathe") and boasts a chorus that sounds very similar to Kamelot's "Silent Goddess". It is the heaviest song on the album, combining relentless guitars with powerful drums that never stop changing beats, beginning with a double-bass kick and slowing down only to pick right back up again. Redemption's skilled hand at combining keyboards and guitars at car-crash speeds is unrestrained in this song, providing the band's trademark marriage of infantry riffage and astral keystrokes. These "solos" encompass one of the album's finest moments.

"Sapphire", the album's 15-minute beast is great, but lacks the perfectly hypnotic character of "Window to Space" to sustain a truly memorable 10+ musical experience. It's everything you'd expect from a longer prog-metal song, but the glue that holds the song together isn't as strong as the cement that kept "Window to Space" solid and consistent for 13 minutes.

Then there's the "Fullness of Time" suite, composed of four songs (Rage, Despair, Release and Transcendence). The suite itself is very up and down and is certainly not another shot at (or an improvement over) the "Desperation" suite on their first album. "Rage" is poorly constructed and aimed at producing an intense song that only feels disjointed and scatterbrained. The verses are memorable and sound like the vocal harmonies were written by Arena, but the song lacks a fluid transition or relationship between verse and chorus. "Despair" is short but powerful, delivering quick, punchy choruses aided by Alder's perfect voice and ending in a distant, bass-reduced piano. "Release" is heavier but more organic than "Rage". There is a cohesive relationship between its parts and doesn't feel too deliberate in its execution. "Transcendence" is an unlikely Redemption song: a happy one. It's uplifting, accessible and feel-good, bringing a "moral" to the suite.

It's a great album and I recommend it to anyone who likes the faster, darker side of prog-metal.

See also: Redemption - "Redemption", Dream Theater - "Train of Thought", Zero Hour - "The Towers of Avarice"

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