Rating: ****1/2
Sam Fishman is a drummer from Jersey that used to be in a band with one of the dudes from the Spin Doctors but is now making epic, narrative-based prog rock in 2018.
I mean, that's just a summary. He's a lot more. He's also an acclaimed music producer that even had some notoriety for releasing a rock and roll version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that went viral.
His latest effort is called "End of Time" and it promises to be dramatic. His bio even described it as "a progressive rock soundtrack in search of an animated feature film". Sounds tight.
I'm gonna get to the reviewing now. TTYL.
Watch the music video for "End of Time" on Youtube here:
I'm gonna ditch my normal review system of track-by-track because this album is different. It's literally a story, complete with a narrator. The opening track is literally like an instructional on how to listen to the album. The narrator has a very calming British voice, FWIW. As we get into the music portion, I must mention that it kinda sounds like the band Berlin. It's dramatic sounding but I like where it's going and the idea is pretty rad. As we move along, we get to the middle portion and the songs themselves get stronger, "Voices Emerge" and "Stolen Lives" rock hard in particular. That said, the track "Stolen Lives" is maybe my favorite on the entire album. Such an interesting concept album. I'm really digging it. Lyrically and thematically it's quite heavy with a lot of uncomfortable subjects being broached. That's about as close as I've ever come to a trigger warning. "Final Distance to the Clock" is a badass drum solo. That needs to be mentioned for sure. "The End of Time" is the single and it's solid, but not my favorite track on the album. "The Short Dream" and "The Short Dream - revisited" end the journey and what a journey it was. So dope.
I really loved this. It's not gonna be for everyone, which is why it didn't get the 5 stars. I think fans of metal and progressive rock are going to absolutely love this though. I know I did.