Coma Ecliptic

Better than Dream Theater?
This is my 4th favorite BTBAM album. It’s absolutely insane.

The opener, Node is pretty damn good, starting out with an organ part and some incredible singing from Tommy Giles Rogers Jr, before descending into a full blown Queen song at 51 seconds.

At 2:43, Node changes to a full on Dream Theater song, with piano, synths, and some brutal drumming.
The screams on this track bring me back to their Alaska days. This album abandons TGR’s trademark death growls in favor of James LaBrie-esque vocal harmonies. Don’t get me wrong, I love clean vocals, but when it comes to metal, clean vocals don’t hit the same as unintelligible screams. There’s many time signature changes on The Coma Machine, and a plethora of breakdowns. There’s some excellent production on this album. None of the instruments are louder than the others.

There are some some arpeggiated and Stranger Things-ass synths in Dim Ignition (track 3), for some reason. The synth presence is strong on here. There’s some annoying vocal panning, but it’s a solid track overall.

Famine Wolf is pretty damn intense. There’s some crisp pinch harmonics and double kicks throughout, as well as some sick soloing and hard ass breakdowns. Track 4 also contains some of the most Dream Theater-esque singing on the album. In the middle of the song, there’s a very melodic breakdown, followed by some Freddie Mercury vocals. There’s a weird breakdown in the middle, where it switches to 3/4 and TGR sings in this weird, almost southern US accent, before switching into another weird and trippy breakdown. The final movement, if you will, is an interesting solo that transports the listener through about 10 different key signatures in the span of a minute.

King Redeem / Queen Serene:
It’s Radiohead time. Well, at least for a minute or so. It soon descends into an absolute technical masterpiece, with blast beats, constant time signature changes, and some really melodic soloing. There’s some distorted screams on this one, and some delayed, reverb-y spoken word. There’s a soft, clean bit in the middle, with some (almost) jangly guitars and piano.

Turn On The Darkness begins with an extremely dark intro, and some Jerry Cantrell-ass singing.
Before long, the listener is headlong into a sick, melodic breakdown, and some of the best solos on the entire album.
Buckle up, dude. You’re only 30 minutes into this hour and 8 minute album. The panning on here is really good. The singing is perfectly timed with the instrumental. Track 5 has some of the most beautiful solos I’ve ever heard in a metal album. Not to sound dumb or anything, but they sort of take you away. There is some AMAZING singing and screaming on this song. At one point TGR was screaming in the background, and I couldn’t tell whether it was him or a theremin.

Next up, we got an interesting and funky Latin beat, and some of the weirdest singing I’ve ever heard. The drumming on The Ectopic Stroll is phenomenal. The tom hits and cymbals sound incredible. This is the most interesting and strange song on here. There’s a weird synth breakdown, followed immediately by one of the most amazing breakdowns I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. God, the blast beats on here SLAPS. Again, the drumming is amazing. There’s a bluesy solo towards the end, with a piano in rhe background, followed by a glorious chorus which ends the track.

Rapid Calm begins with an ambient soundscape and some dreamy singing from TGR, followed up by a reprise of the opener (with added bells). The song continues with some creepy piano parts, and a lot of really good singing. This is the part of the album where, “the machine is crumbling”, and the climax of the album is reached. It’s is absolutely epic. I was blown away by the storytelling of this album on my first listen. There’s a synth passage with some MIDI strings, which don’t actually sound that bad. After that brief break from the metal, hooooooooly sh*t, there’s a glam metal type beat with some really good screams, a cowbell, and some wah solos.

Track 9 is Memory Palace, a 9 minute epic. There’s some really technical playing on this one. There’s a breakdown in the middle, and it is just absolutely stunning. This, is of course followed up by some very weird singing. Some of the best riffs are on here. There’s some very nice organ playing towards the end. The ending is very, very melodic, and there’s a beautiful solo on here.

Option Oblivion is the second to last track on here . It’s my least favorite, but it’s honestly pretty good. I don’t really have much to say about this song. There are some very cool solos on here, though.

Life in Velvet is the 3 and a half minute closer. It’s not that special, but it ends with some very intense instrumentals and some solid vocals from TGR. The album ends with an epic breakdown that ends at 3:27 in the song, which then fades out.

Congrats, you made it to the end, mi amigo.
I give this album a 76/100. It’s not terrible; however, there’s room for improvement in some areas. It’s certainly not as good as Zeppelin IV, Ænema, or Frances The Mute, but it’s certainly better than most of the stuff I’ve heard from Dream Theater.

Coma Ecliptic is like Octavarium, but interesting. And shorter.