Album Reviews
Shockmagazine [Hungarian - Translated to English]
By: Kántor Tamás
Promo 2005 - Day Six
After the atmospheric, modern sci-fi intro, Age of Technology kicks off with a huge staccato riff. The overwhelming synthesizers and the great drumwork remind me of nothing less than Dream Theater's Mirror. The quiet verses feature some keys with laid-back guitars and the expressive voice of singer/guitarist Robbie van Stiphout. Certain influences of Pain of Salvation are to recognize, but it's surely not about borrowing themes, both bands play the same vivid, tastefully layered, intelligently articulated progressive music.
The chorus of the song is something like Symphony X at their best, but it carefully avoids being too heroic. After the fifth minute the tune introduces a calm, instrumental middle part, where the hearts of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree fans will surely beat faster. Robbie's solo is well-built, more reminiscent of some greats of the 70s than today's shredders. The song closes with the same riffing orgy it has started with. Perfect!
Song number two is called Lost Identity. The acoustic beginning is completed by piano and a subtle guitar melody. The vocal lines remind me of Geoff Tate's stuff, and the flute-like melody has a certain flavor of Psychotic Waltz.
It's prepares the listener to the chorus, which could have been written by the San Diego gods of prog-metal. The multi- layered vocal melody has a strange twist, which reminds me of PW's Mosquito album, even if it is much more modern sounding. The guitar lead has once again more elements of the Gilmour-school, than of Petrucci's licks, I like that approach.
Dolf Van Heugten's great soundscapes on synthesizer also incorporate this duality: the production is truly modern, but it has a mature vintage feel as well. At the end of the song all members let themselves go, a bass-solo á la Myung can be captured over the fierce riffing, followed by some sampler noises and quiet key-guitar leads. My ears yearn for more, but this was it.
Day Six stick out like a tower from today's enervating, often self- repeating prog scene. Even if their music includes some similarities mentioned above, these two songs are really refreshing and original. The foursome, who started as a punk-rock combo called Peanuts, consists of musicians in their early twenties, and if we consider their musical progression so far, we can expect a lot more fantastic music in the coming decades, especially if a bigger label takes them under its wings.
If it wasn't that cold, I would walk barefoot to the headquarters of Inside Out to protest. Day Six have the right to be at that stable!