TOUCHSTONE — The City Sleeps (review)

TOUCHSTONE — The City Sleeps album cover Album · 2011 · Metal Related Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Stephen
I just don't get what people hear in TOUCHSTONE's 'The City Sleeps'. This highly praised album felt completely down the average line for me and nothing's really special about a female-fronted band playing a combo of decent hard rock and symphonic touch in a prog metal corridor. The genre sounds a bit complicated and judging from the band's influences which is also quite vast, ranging from Yes, Van Halen, Dream Theater to Alter Bridge, Elton John, and Our Lady Peace, that can be interesting as well as confusing.

There are several great moments though. 'When Shadows Fall' is a nice 10 minutes track. After the long 3 minutes intro, the vocal wrapped in a very melodic fashion in the veins of Dream Theater and Genesis mix, but I'm pretty sure it's too boggy at that length and probably better at 7 minutes. 'Sleeping Giants' is a great ballad, with alternate vocal and beautiful harmonies, the keys solo is enchanting as well. 'Half Moon Meadow' is also very smooth and nice, with a building up tempo in the last 1 minute. But I do think it's an irony for a metal band to lay the strength on slow songs like these.

'Corridors' and 'Throw Them To The Sky' are plain average. 'These Walls' is a straight forward non-prog track, 'Good Boy Psycho' is quite interesting, the verse is okay, and overall a good track, but I'm not entirely sold with this song. 'Horizons' is a good melodic rock track, perhaps also a ballad, but somehow too long for such a linear song. The title track, 'The City Sleeps', which is an epic 11 minutes is also quite dull, bringing the total score to around 65%
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Wilytank wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Eh, you know. People pop stiffies when the term progressive metal is brought up. I personally don't see the appeal of a U.K. band that shares the name of an American energy cooperative.

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