Now? Now I can safely call Theories of Flight the classic release I always assumed it would become. But is it worth stopping the discussion there? Four years ago, it was worth holding back on such lofty proclamations. When a band somehow manages to take the most solid and memorable moments of their breakthrough release (Parallels) and seamlessly mesh them with a sound they’ve been circling around for years, and do so flawlessly, then it is at least worth proclaiming that they’ve released a milestone within their own career. Theories of Flight is a much-needed classic release in the progressive metal genre. Four years later, and time has definitely told. I felt it was too soon to make that decision, and that only time would tell. When I first reviewed Theories of Flight, I hesitated to call it a classic progressive metal album.
This is also a notable album because it was really the last one written with full band participation and not just "The Jim Matheos Experience". its the second one with vocalist Ray Alder and he has improved considerably since "No Exit". Its the first one with the phenomenal Mark Zonder behind the drum kit. This is probably their most progressive album of their entire catalog. The extra tracks on the second disc are raw versions of songs that made the album. The second disc is the 'alternate mix' which seems to really push the volume of the guitars and make the keyboards mostly a backing instrument.
The bonus tracks on this disc are unreleased songs (I think.). The first disc is listed as the 'Original' mix of the album, but it sounds exactly like the remastered version that I already owned. The 20th anniversary version of this album is awesome. I was stupid.Įmperor In The Nightside Eclipse - 20th Year Anniversary And the second half of the album that I criticized as ‘boring’ in my original review is actually the stuff most similar to We’re Here Because We’re Here — while at the same time I complained about how Weather Systems lacked the depth of that previous release while delivering a whole second half that was perfect for it. I wanted to call it ‘soulless’ because it seemed to epic to actually be legit. I wanted to call it formulaic just because it took the previous album’s formula and pushed it to a higher level. Instead of just enjoying it, though, I let the cynical reviewer in me start to nit-pick. The melodies were excellent, the songs were beautiful, and the addition of Lee Douglas as a full time vocalist was the final missing piece. It wasn’t until Weather Systems that it truly felt like they had found their own sound that didn’t borrow liberally from bands like Radiohead and Pink Floyd. At that point (and to this day) it was easily their best and most unique album. When I first heard Weather Systems there was a lot to buy into. Weather Systems wasn’t always my favorite Anathema release, and I definitely wouldn’t have seen it as my number one of the decade. Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name 5.0 classic