Review Summary: Cracked foundation.
There’s an almost inherent degree of respect to be afforded to a band when they tackle a concept album. While the amount one grants is ultimately subjective, many times the mere presence of a recurring, thematic element or narrative focus is something worth appreciating. Depending on the band or album, this can be a chance to explore a new and exciting direction, or a way to become more focused on a single objective. Even a band like Dream Theater, who’ve showcased two concept albums of polarizing quality, can be spared a modicum of praise for their attempt at a long and defined tale, despite the ultimate silliness of the lesser work. Similar to Dream Theater, Fifth Density, an unsigned progressive rock/metal band from Phoenix, Arizona, are high on ambition and light on brevity, as evidenced by their sophomore offering,
Dominion of the Sun. The album in question, a 77-minute opera, is pitched as being about “ancient Sumeria, and the struggle of finding meaning in consciousness.” Factor in how the narrative is from the view of a cyborg and you can almost immediately tell how this tale will play out.
Fifth Density’s musical core is evidently birthed from their more renowned contemporaries; imagine a slower version of Tesseract (emphasis on the “slower” part) emulating Haken while sprinkling a little Lost in Thought into the mix. The band aren’t necessarily inclined to put technical prowess ahead of everything else, which can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the listener. On one hand, it can be refreshing to hear a group in this genre not attempt to “wow” or pizzazz their music in a way that crosses into the realm of pretention; on the other, this approach runs the risk of quickly boring the listener due to its lack of exciting moments. In exchange, Fifth Density try to dramatize their concept by frequently focusing the lens on their vocalist (Avidan Elijah Wolfgang Camey-Santana…I’m not retyping that), who’s fond of sustaining his deliveries in a quasi-operatic style. Combine this with his already-awkward voice and it’s easy to gather that, for some, the vocals will be the make-or-break aspect of the album. He can be likened to James LaBrie in this sense: some will enjoy the performance and argue it suits the music, others will find it nothing more than a distracting hindrance. Looking beyond the vocals, there’s plenty of room for everyone in the band to breathe, but seldom a chance for them to ripen and come alive. The issue with Fifth Density’s instrumentals isn’t a lack of enjoyment (quite the opposite), but rather a lack of invigoration. When the band start getting into a groove or rhythm, it’s easy to get the impression that something new and exhilarating will happen, but they’ll often simply stay the course or shift gears without actually upping the ante (“Black Sol” is a small exception to this). Though far from a bad approach, this leaves us with a lot of unrealized potential and diminished returns.
Crafting a grandiose concept album carries the challenge of not only getting the listener interested, but keeping them attentive for the entire affair.
Dominion of the Sun flutters about somewhat in this respect. The intro is unsurprising in its gradual, quietly ominous build up to the proper opener, which swiftly kicks the charade out the window in an equally predictable fashion. Fortunately, as the album continues to play out, little touches and transitions crop up that make things interesting if not completely engaging. These include modern musical tropes, like an occasional bass drop, along with some appropriately oriental touches, like the Middle-Eastern drumming on “The Ascent.” Points such as the latter are where
Dominion of the Sun begins to rise above and pull the listener in proper. They permit some momentary compensation from the aforementioned lack of stimulation, and while they don’t fix said shortcoming, they leave a nice, lasting impression regardless. This is part of why the transitions into and during “Reaching the Divine,” including its unenthusiastic spoken words, are successfully engrossing, while other tracks boil down to being neat, but unremarkable.
Dominion of the Sun is clearly an exercise in ambition, from its theatrical concept to its deliberately contrasting influences. However, it also feels like a premature delivery, one that’s been carefully edited but not given the time to sit and develop into something greater. The ingredients are present and the band try to reap the benefits, yet some areas are simply managed better than others. The final vision isn’t bright and luminous like the sun, but flickering and cracked like an old chandelier during a power surge.
