Band:	Frameshift
Album:	An Absence Of Empathy
Style:	Progressive rock
Release date:	March 01, 2005
A review by:	Undercraft

01. Human Grain (An Absence Of Empathy)
02. Just One More (Murder I - Serial Killer)
03. Miseducation (Violence In Schools I - The Teacher)
04. I Killed You (Murder II - Impulse Killer)
05. This Is Gonna Hurt (Torture I - Torturing)
06. Push The Button (War I - Modern War / Impersonal)
07. In An Empty Room (Rape I - The Victim)
08. Outcast (Violence In Schools II - School Shooting)
09. Blade (War II - Historical War / Personal)
10. How Long Can I Resist (Rape II - The Assailant)
11. When I Look Into My Eyes (Torture II - Being Tortured)
12. What Kind Of Animal (Human Grain - Part II)

Bach is back!

Frameshift is the brainchild of Henning Pauly, if you were around, maybe you caught Frameshift's debut album, "Unweaving The Rainbow" with James LaBrie from Dream Theater fame on vocals.

Due to the busy schedules of LaBrie, Pauly had to hire another talented singer, Sebastian Bach. If you don't know him maybe you'll remember if you go back in time and listen to some Skid Row, band of the aforementioned singer. If you were fan of Skid Row and you were wondering of the whereabouts of the singer, the answer is simple, he left the Metal/Hard Rock scene and went over Broadway to pursue a career there, he appeared in plays like "The Rocky Horror Show" and "Jesus Christ Superstar", and once again he was acclaimed as the great singer he is.

This is a concept album and it deals with the dreams of a man intrigued by violence and what triggers it, it's a trip to the human psyche of people that are experiencing or dealing with violence. The songs are set up in pairs so you can explore both sides of the coin, the raped and the rapist, the oppressor and the rebel, etc?

Musically, the album relies on the amazing vocals of Sebastian Bach, they're as powerful as they used be back in the Skid Row days. Some compositions are lengthy but they keep you entertained since a lot of effects and stuff (electro samples, white noise, sound samples, etc) were thrown into the final mix to spice things up.

Don't look for heaviness or intricate musicianship, this is a totally different Progressive album, some songs are heavy, others are more in the Rock vein. You'll find a varied repertoire that's for sure.

Sadly, this might be the last collaboration between Henning and Mr.Bach since they've been in a legal battle from a while now. The problem? Some credits that where excluded from the final print made Sebastian Bach quite upset, but I won't get into those details right now, for all of you seeking to know more about this drama check out here.

This is a nice album no doubt about it, my advice? Give it a try and maybe you should give it a couple of spins before giving your opinion, this was a late bloomer, at least for me.