#30 - Top of 2018

The Sea Within - The Sea Within (InsideOut)

The Sea Within is the debut album of an international progressive rock super-project consisting of an all-star team including vocalist/ guitarist Roine Stolt (Flower Kings, Kaipa, Transantlantic), bassist Jonas Reingold (Flower Kings, Kaipa),singer/guitarist Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation), drummer Marco Minnemann (The Mute Gods) and keyboardist Tom Brislin (Meat Loaf/Spiralling).  Daniel has collaborated with the Flower Kings crew a couple of times in the past, with contributions to 2000's "Untold Future" and "Adam & Eve", as well as worked with Stolt within the context of Transatlantic live performances.  For Brislin and Minnemann, this is the first collaboration with the Swedish power trio. The project was written collectively by the band and crosses over to many aspects of contemporary prog rock music, with tracks such as the opener "Ashes of Dawn" having a more metal edge, while others such as "They know my name" lean on the art rock spectrum of things. Overall a fantastic accomplishment (especially given that it was written in a short period of time), that while may not be the crowning achievement of any of the gentlemen in it, is still a breathtaking piece of prog rock music.

93/100

Below is the music video for "Ashes of Dawn".