Album Review
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3.5
Stars
Eleventh Hour
Novena
402
#
UK
First full-length album from this new prog-metal group with Haken frontman Ross Jennings as lead vocalist. A highly anticipated release after the band's debut EP in 2016.
This album and band will, naturally, be compared with Haken. My take...this album would have come in at a solid 4 Stars and bested Haken's 2020 offering of Virus (3.5 Stars), but it has one serious problem for me...I feel many of the album's best songs (such as Prison Walls) are marred by over use of growling vocals and lengthy narration which is included for dramatic effect. (It's no one's fault. Or is it? =) These bits don't add much to the "song" for me. They may make it a bit more interesting on a first listen, but then just get in the way upon subsequent plays. I think the band should have left these parts out on the album (particularly the narration bits), but then added them during any live performances. This would have made the album listens more fluid and energized and delighted the crowd at live shows with this added drama that would have never been heard previously by the fans until at the show. But alas, there it is for every listen. 3.5 Stars.