James LaBrie
Impermanent Resonance
Inside Out
Street: 08.06
James LaBrie = Soilwork + Dream Theater + In Flames
Dream Theater: Thankfully, this is not that band, it’s just got the band’s vocalist (LaBrie) and some buddies creating the best melo-death-pop they can. The music itself is enough to make the bros in the current incarnations of Soilwork and In Flames jealous. The melodies are abundant groove-styled riffing and some fancy keyboard work. The attempt here is to bridge the gap between prog-heads and fans of the more melodic style of melodic death à la Sweden. It works extremely well—well enough to not make me want to run and hide in a corner even if its mood is sugary sweet instead of something darker that fans of the typical Swedish style might want. LaBrie’s vocals snap into place for every song and it all works in great harmony. I don’t really want to admit it, but these are some damn fine tunes. –Bryer Wharton