Customer Reviews

For the Love of Art and the Making

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This cd is a little strange. The "tracks" are almost like snippets of song parts strung together. Many of them are under a minute and just run together without you knowing it. Supposedly, you can put this on "random" for a different cd at every listening. Unique but kind of weird. I tend to like the repeating of parts of songs that I really like. This is good but not up to the standard of their prior albums which are very good. Worth buying for sure though.

I bought a copy of this album directly from record label that distributed it while attending ProgPowerUSA VII in Atlanta just this past September. I was a little skeptical if this was actually going to be anything good. It was so unusual and "different" that I did not know what to make of it. Think about it - a single 40-minute long song divided up into 43 parts. Ooookay, but it still intriqued me and having listened to Beyond Twilight's previous albums, most notably _Section X_, I figured it had to at least be decent. Boy, was I in for a very pleasent surprise!

The first time I heard this, I was completely blown away! WOW! Friggan UNBELIEVABLE! There has never been an album that just completely had me blown away like this one did, and I've been listening to metal for a very long time, right from the early days of Judas Priest and Black Sabbeth. I honostly think there is absolutly nothing that I've heard in the mainstream that will even come close to the brilliance of this particular album! The only thing that I can think of that I've listened to recently that even comes close are two Aryeon albums - _The Final Experiment_ and _Into the Electric Castle_ (both hardly considered "mainstream"). I've listened to this thing a good dozen times plus since I bought it and it amazes me every single time - and this is just listening to it straight through. I'll need to try the "random shuffle" trick as mentioned by others.

The music itself is just so brilliantly composed and played. Everything from beautiful orchestral parts to the hard driven "chunky" power-metalish guitars and double-bass. The vocals are just incredible in thier own right, complete with full choruses. This is indeed has a very big symphonic and epic feel. I tell everybody that this is basically what you get when you cross a symphony orchestra with a prog metal band! I am just in awe in the composition itself. I am willing to bet that something like this is not easy to compose, let alone, actually play to the caliber displayed on this record. The talent displayed here is just staggering! Just amazing what happens when a band actually produces music for the love of the art instead of just trying to make money (and most likely one reason why I thought just about anything I've heard on the mainstream (commercial FM radio) pretty much sucked in the past 5 years or so).

The actual recording quality of the record is also phenomenal. It is very clean and very dynamic, with nary a hint of dynamic compression detected on here. The detail and clarity is just incredible. If at all remotely possible - listen to this on a good, high-end audio system (how I love my Klipsch Reference and B&K gear!). You will be blown away! A cheap $30 boom-box just cannot do this album justice. This has become one of my reference disks for checking out audio systems. I honostly cannot think of any flaws to take away from this album, other than I wish there were more. But I guess if it was too long, it would probably ended up just get ting bogged down.

This is most definitly recommended by anyone even remotely interested in power/progressive metal, especially of the epic/symphonic persuasion.

this album was a pleasent surprise to me. i always stayed clear of these guys cause i did not think i'd like em. boy was i wrong. i love this album. the whole album is one song broken up in a bunch of tracks so u can skip through them. the musicanship is great. the guitarist is really good. plays some great leads. and the keyboard player is also very impressive. the bass and drums are really tight. they keep some wird timeing. the singer is very good. he has a great voice. i love his harmonies. the song itself is very strange. never really heard anything like it. it defidently is very original. can be very heavy at times. and also has some swingy jazzy parts. my only complaint is a few points seemed like they wernt running fluidly enough. they seemed to drag a bit. but other than that it was really good. i recommend this to any prog fans. fans of dream theater, symphony x, and zero hour will probly like this album allot.

This band is nothing short of brilliant. This cd blew me away. One of the most technical pieces I've ever heard. I listened to it straight through the first time, then took their suggestion to listen to it on shuffle - and it's was a total different experience. It has rightfully taken it's place among the best Prog bands of all time!!!!

BRILLIANT, AMAZING, WHOAAAAAAA, WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?????? This my friends is the most amazing piece of musically brilliance around today. What Beyond Twilight has done is nothing short of genius. 47 sections of varying length made into really just one long mulit part song. Here's a hint for you, listen to it one time thru with all tracks in order, then but you CD player on shuffle, and listen to the results. You will never listen to music in the same way again. This CD is so amazing i have almost worn it out so i but it on my MP3 player so i won't damage it. I always listen to this cd in my car's cd player while driving i put it on shuffle and just sit back and wait for the show to start. I have not heard it in the same order twice, and that is what makes it so amazing it is a different CD everytime. So metal fans order this and sit back one Saturday with a beer, and just enjoy. You will be amazed at the results.

For the Love of Art and the Making is the third Beyond Twilight album written, produced, and recorded by mastermind Finn Zierler and Jacob Hansen (with some help by Tommy Hansen). The lineup is the same except that Zierler's chosen a new singer for the album (the first two discs had different vocalists as well). Bjorn Jansson from Tears of Anger is the new singer who you will undoubtedly compare to previous guys Jorn Lande and Kelly Sundown Carpenter, especially during the heavier parts where he opts for some serious throaty vocals that sound amazing.

That said, the vocals are no where near as out front as on the previous releases this time around. On the contrary, they are slightly behind Zierler's dazzling keyboard work and Tomas Freden's pummeling drums. This, however, is definitely a conscious effort on both Zierler and Hansen's parts, as the vocal mix has a deep purpose to it. My understanding is that Zierler wanted to keep the vocals as just part of the songs, rather than the songs themselves, and therefore wrote some of the pieces emphasizing his diverse keyboard and piano sections (by far his most diverse to date) and left more space for heavy guitar runs. Yes, this album is a lot heavier than the earlier discs; its raw sound, crunchy guitar drive and impeccable rhythmic anchor make for one hell of a listen. The disc is divided into 43 sections (with three hidden cuts) and is reminiscent of Edge of Sanity - Crimson II in this aspect. However, all tracks smoothly bleed into each other, making a one-track album that clocks in at nearly 40 minutes.

Guesting two members from Circus Maximus (speaking of which, have you heard Circus Maximus' 2005 debut yet?), Truls Haugen and Michael Eriksen, For the Love of Art and the Making is the most complex album Finn Zierler has ever written. The album boasts passages laced with intricate instrumentation, where innumerable threads of melodies and riff-based textures are interwoven and embark on some of the most vivid and unorthodox keyboard lines and sequenced sections you'll hear. Zierler has really turned into a keyboard wizard here: the album is packed with blinding synth leads (and the guy solos like a madman!), atmospheric undercurrents, and waves of experimental soundscapes. The dark, cinematic aura that permeated the previous album Section X is readily available here as well, but the music also focuses on amazing guitar work, which seems to alternate between sparse yet effective riffery to terrific leads as on "Temptations" and hard-rocking cuts such as "Dark Wild Rage", a song that boasts huge drum beats, weird sound effects that almost border on industrial, hypnotic synth layerings, and vocals that are as aggressive as they get.

I stopped worrying about Zierler's choice of singers ever since he won me over with Kelly Sundown Carpenter doing a great job filling Jorn Lande's shoes. Bjorn Jansson is no exception. He proves to be a dangerously wicked singer, delivering each piece with utmost emotion on pieces like "The Perfect Heart" where we sings passionately over Zierler's solo piano during the intro before the duo are joined by a cool mutiple vocal arrangement; or the very Lande-inspired singing on "The Black Widow"; as well as the amazing "Purity", a track that combines his powerful voice with shredding guitars and moody synths; or on the simply courageous amalgamation of female choirs, blasbeat-type drums that would fit any death metal band, and excellent harmony vocals with the Circus Maximus guys. One other piece that immediately catches your attention is the second part of "Past the Magic", which is basically a composition made of rhythmic laughter and eerily recalls Jon Oliva to these ears. Moreover, there are so many recurrent themes in the album, as you will discover how many times the great melody and lyrics of the first piece are repeated in different parts through the course of the album.

Lyrically the album is equally intense and, while I've yet to sit and fully decipher the concept, it seems to deal with themes like life, death, love, dishonesty, lies, and so on. Reading the lyrics of the piece called "Sleeping Beauty" evoked words that mourned the loss of innocence to me, but other listeners may interpret them differently. Another thing about this album is that you may want to shuffle and observe how many new doors the experience may open for you. Depending on the order in which you listen to it, your perception of what Finn Zierler really tried to accomplish with this disc may become clearer and For the Love of Art and the Making may end up becoming one of your favourite discs of the year.

This album is a like puzzle where each section reinforces the other only to complicate the process. Still, I have to very highly recommend it to any fan of keyboard-infused dark prog metal with excellent vocals and lyrics.

As a whole this cd is a really fun listen. Tracks 3 and 5 are probably the most catchy tunes I've heard in a while.

Easily one the best heavy Prog Albums ever made. It flows perfectly from beginning to end. i am a fan of DT, Symphony X, Pain of Salvation, Circus Maximus, Adagio, etc. If you like ANY of these bands, This album AND Section X will blow your mind. I have listened to this album maybe 130 times, and it has not gotten old.

I'm slowly starting to like Sweden strictly on account of their metal exports. Speedy double Bass, symphonic keys, soaring vocals and chunky metallicious guitars are what I like best and this group does deilver all!

I love the Swedish drum production I've heard so far (Pain of Salvation, Ayeron, this album). It is really a good tone for technical styles like this... you don't miss a kick.

The Vocals are high-soaring alot which I like, and they have the same qwirkiness that Pain of Salvation has at times. I think at times, he's trying too hard to sound bluesy and soulish, this makes his accent prominent. Good or bad? You decide.

I like that machine-gun "One" thing they do in the first few minutes with the drummer and the guitarist that kind of tightness sold me when I heard that soundbites from Heavencross Records. There's also a really emotinoal guitar solo over an odd meter in the middle somewhere that reminds me of Hell's Kitchen (DT) or the middle of "Axis of Evil" (Black Utopia - Sherrinian). What is that he's doing in that hoakey shuffle beat part? It sounds like a sweep picking lick, or is it the keyboard guy? I like those Latin, Conan-the-Barbarian vocals at the begining and the end of the twilight. These are my memorable moments that I can't wait to hear when I play this tune on my iRiver. Good stuff.

BUT

What's with the 43 tracks? The whole thing is 37 minutes long thus, some tracks are a few minutes long, some are mere seconds! The idea, as stated on the insert, is that you can put the CD player on Shuffle and have a whole new combination of the tracks to love and cherrish. It's a good theory, but if you are an mp3 freako like me, there's some problems. It also seems to make the album suffer from a kind of musician's ADHD. It's hard to get into an 8 second riff or piano line.

The CD plays good straight through in the CD player but there is the inevitable gaps when in shuffle mode. The breaks also occur too soon or too late and aren't always exactly on the beat. To make matters worse, by their nature, mp3's are not meant to be played in a continuous, no-gap mode with or without shuffle. If your player supports it, you can use a slight crossfade, but then the beats are off. This really ruined the first listen for me. I had to do alot of extra labor to make the thing palatable for my picky iRiver listening ears.

I Ripped all the tracks as .wav files and used Wavelab 4.0 to melt them to gether seamlessly in an Audio Montage file. I rendered them two different ways. Once as a huge 37 minute masterpiece - as I felt it was meant to be heard (named Twilight Monster). During the process I also noticed that some parts sounded like song endings so I split the thing up into 4 distinct parts (First, Second, Third and Ultimate Twulight). I don't remember the sequences but it was roughly 12-14 tracks a piece. And just to try the "total" experience, I ripped the CD again (all 43 tracks) as seperate mp3s and put them in their own folder so I could do the "Twilight Shuffle".

This song-splitting thing must be a prog qwirk. Explorer's Club - Raising the Mammoth did the same thing to me and it ruined my first listen too. That album was easily melted together into 4 big songs, one of them over 20 minutes long... what else could a guy ask for? Why dice up the product? Anyways, that's the only reason that this reviewer gave it 4 stars instead of 5. Sorry to ruin your average, guys.