I was recently introduced to this band and particular album through a friend, and I must say it is a great musical experience on so many levels.

The album is comprised of 8 tracks, most of which are lengthy and it plays through as one continuous song, lasting just over an hour. Initially it can be difficult to truly appreciate, especially as the first half of the album in no way lives up to the quality of the second half, as with many progressive albums. After a while however, the album can be an excelent experience. The first song is a great way to start the album, comparable to the likes of muse and Radiohead in terms of musical style. This chilled out mellow intro is however much lived down by the following two tracks, which my least favourite of the album.

The album is a mix of various genres melded into one, it's an unusual concept but they've done an excellent job from a musicians point of view. The problem with the overall album is that at times, some songs contain parts which really don't fit in too well with the rest of the song, and some areas I feel are dragged out without much happening instrumentally, whereas surrounding those insufficient areas, the riffs, timing and technical drumming at times are simply jaw dropping.

The guitarist knows how to play and the John Petrucci influence really shines through in his playing, but he never over does it. I find the drumming to also be extremely technical, there's much variation in the drummers playing and style, which massively helps bring this album together as one continuous song.
The vocalist is very diverse and shows that he doesn't just scream, as there are several occasions of melodic vocals throughout the album, alongside the fact he plays keyboard and plays a lot of the various sound effects you will hear through the album.

Overall it's a technically brilliant album, which could potentially shed light on the increasingly dire music situation as time progresses, it is however let down at times by parts in songs that simply don't work, but to sum it up briefly: It's still much, much better than any of the mainstream rubbish tossed out by record labels these days in every possible aspect, a highly underrated band.