Headspace - I Am Anonymous - review
Headspace - I Am Anonymous - review
Tracklist
01. Stalled Armageddon02. Fall Of America
03. Soldier
04. Die With A Bullet
05. In Hell's Name
06. Daddy Fucking Loves You
07. Invasion
08. The Big Day
A review by
Milena November 12, 2012
I Am Anonymous is an effort by a group of friends, written and perfected over several years. Headspace gathered any time the musicians could catch a break from their other projects - especially the busiest of the bunch, Adam Wakeman (yes, that Wakeman) and Damian Wilson (Threshold, Star One, Ayreon) - and, according to the bio on their official site, they had no intentions of playing prog metal at first. It just came out of them. And you can hear each of these facts coming alive in their music. They sound relaxed and playful, inspired and happy to be doing what they're doing.
The band's biggest strength is their composing ability - each song is perfectly built from the ground up, an exciting ride from start to finish and there isn't a single part in any of them which overstays its welcome. Most of the songs are long and rewarding, especially the almost perfect prog epic "Daddy Fucking Loves You", though my personal favorite remains "In Hell's Name", which is a little shorter but equally well-put together. Most of the songs are mid-paced or faster, but Headspace is equally comfortable working in slower tempos, proven by the short ballad "Soldier" or occasional slower breaks such as the Riverside-ish part near the end of "Fall Of America".
As for musicianship itself, it unfortunately sucks.
Did anyone fall for that? No? I didn't expect you to, anyway. The musicianship is top notch. What I like most about the Rinaldi/Wakeman duo is that they go into solos exactly when you expect them and go ways you least expect them to go, with ever-changing keyboard patches providing variety and the solid metal guitar tone providing consistency in sound. Damian Wilson's voice has a unique quality, both delicate and powerful (just like the girl walking through a war zone on the album cover), and you're bound to be impressed by his emotional delivery - having such perfect, deep lyrics and groovy vocal melodies to work with makes him all the more enchanting.
I Am Anonymous made me remember why I fell in love with prog metal. Not that I needed such a reminder, but maybe there's some of you who do. Go check it out!
Comments
Comments:
19
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| Fredd
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My favorite here is "Die With A Bullet". Ah! Lee Pomeroy rules!! And I think he has been the busiest of this bunch coz on top of this he also has a new album with It Bites. And while writing this, he was involved in a massive tour with Take That. Yes, them. Nice review!
---- Freeze! Step away from the hubris.
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Posts: 4603 Written by BudDa on 12.11.2012 at 16:09 Oh gosh, you're kidding me? I had no idea! Cookies for him, then 
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| JohnDoe
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Posts: 2311
I thought I had checked this out but now that I read the review I noticed I can't recall a single note  Well, I'm going to find out.
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Posts: 5289
A terrific prog album and a contender for prog AOTY. This stands out sooo much I am having a hard time between this and To-Mera's. Great job as usual Milena!
---- rekt
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| JohnDoe
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| Fredd
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| Posts: 5289 |
Posts: 5289 Written by [user id=17278] on 12.11.2012 at 17:36 album of the year
---- rekt
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Posts: 4774 Written by [user id=17278] on 12.11.2012 at 17:36 album of the year
---- loves 小巫
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Posts: 5289 Written by Ag Fox on 12.11.2012 at 17:43 Ha, we might get 25 responses to his question!
---- rekt
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| Valaskjalf
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Posts: 4603 Written by Merchant of Doom on 12.11.2012 at 17:48 I really can't imagine Headspace with THAT Wilson's vocals, sorry 
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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Posts: 702 Written by Milena on 12.11.2012 at 21:59 mmm... possibly not... would have been interesting, though. I quite like the band musically, but not the vocals very much. Sorry!
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Posts: 1342
Sounds like I need to get out of my cave and listen to some progressive music from this year after all. Thanks for the review Milena.
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Posts: 5289 Written by Dream Taster on 14.11.2012 at 04:54 You will find suggestions all over the place and from a thousand different people. Add me to the list: To-Mera In The Silence Enochian Theory Rush Prisma Along with Headspace, the latest from these bands are my contenders for prog metal AOTY. Pretty dam fine 2012 for prog metal.
---- rekt
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Posts: 1342 Written by tea[m]ster on 17.11.2012 at 10:53 I actually went to see Rush on tour less than a month ago [It was the 5th time I see them live throughout the years]. It was killer as usual. Huge Rush fan, I actually have all their albums. Somehow I didn't think about them when writing my original comment  I'll gladly check your other suggestions, thanks!
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Posts: 11972
So, I finally listened to Headspace! And it made me realize I'm in love with Damian Wilson's vocals, whether it be on Threshold or Headspace. This one is definitely up there in terms of prog releases this year. It's beautiful, heavy and unexpected at times.
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