Quote Originally Posted by 3-LockBox
These keep popping up on my 'recommended' page at Amazon. Some reviews say that they're sorta speed metal prog. Is that acurate? Or are they more like Dream Theater (which I don't really think of as speed metal)?
I think Unweaving The Rainbow was a standout album from 2004. It's more like Mullmuzzler than DT, but more technical and more progressive. Still, if you like DT, I don't see how you could not like the first Frameshift album.

Ayreon's latest is very good. You would swear that David Bowie is singing on some tracks. It's heavy and proggy, and way over the top as you would expect from a sci-fi rock opera concept. Ayreon thows everything and everybody into these productions which can be interesting, but it also creates its own problems of overdoing it. I give the man full marks for pulling this off and creating a very ambitious and full prog release.

Both are solid purchases if you are into prog-metal. The Ayreon is more diverse given the number of vocalists than is Frameshift. In fact, I find the multiple vocalists singing their respective parts in the songs a bit hard to take at times.