Had I heard this album last year, it would have definitely made my best of 2017 list, and been pretty high on the list. This is an amazing album. It could land under heavy metal for sure, but I think there is enough prog here, particularly when added to the pedigree of several of the musicians, for me to put it under progressive rock. This is very heavy, and very complex. Yet, when you are listening, most often you will just enjoy it. The main guys in the band are Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, Derek Sherinian, Jeff Scott Soto and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, but they are joined by some guest musicians. However you label it, this is an amazing album.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2018  Volume 2 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

The mix of prog and metal on the beginning of this cut is darn near perfect. That said, around the three minute mark, the whole thing drops back and then fires out to some screaming hot fusion stuff. The prog takes over from there when the vocals join. There are some unusual shifts and turns later as thing works through various changes. This is full on prog rock in a lot of these later sections. Of course, at almost nine and a half minutes of music, this has plenty of room for it. Sherinian gets a chance to put in some intriguing soloing at times. Somehow there is almost a heavier, proggier Deep Purple angle to some of this. The technical neo-classical guitar section, though, makes me think of Yngwie Malmsteen.