What do you do if you are a progressive metal band unable to secure the services of a full time vocalist? Well, in the case of German band Assignment, you seek out the best talent you can afford in the form of guest singers and record an album with “Inside of the Machine”- a 14 track, 69 minute effort that will bring to mind Ayreon, Queensryche, Fates Warning and a little bit of Royal Hunt with some of their symphonic, majestic keyboards.
After opening with a 6 minute plus instrumental “Upload the System”, the follow up “The Intrusion” features Michael Bormann with his confident, bluesy range on a stirring mid-tempo effort in line with early Masterplan while taking in some stirring, dramatic keyboard effort from Gert Sprick. The band feel comfortable injecting a lot of dark tension between fluid piano work and stirring guitar riffs- check out the dual male/ female led vocals within “Resistance” where Robin Beck adds her veteran melodic range to some pomp-like breaks and overall bouncy rhythms. It’s no surprise that with a heavier, mystical track like “Betrayal” that Mats Leven is the appropriate person to handle the microphone, injecting his sneers and screams like the best years in Therion and Yngwie Malmsteen.
Dynamic versatility is the key when progressive metal bands write albums these days- and Assignment makes sure to allow quieter contrasts to seep in and out beyond opening riffs – “Another Sacrifice” contains a lot of lighter guitar/keyboard syncopation and almost a jazzy feel at times during the instrumental sections a la old Toto while “End of the Machine” fluctuates between almost a cyber-electronic feel and heavier, neo-classical mastery.
In the end, Assignment will gain loads of appeal to those who love concept-oriented progressive metal with a variety of singers to flesh out the story lines. ProgPower festival fans in North America and abroad will need “Inside of the Machine” in their record collections.
Matt Coe, HMS
msc2471@comcast.net
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