Dreamscape - Trance-Like State
	Released: 1997 Label: Rising Sun Productions Cat. No.: Total Time:
	Reviewed by: Larry Daglieri, July 1999 Well, here at last is the disc that has blown me away from the first time it it the player, right up through now as I listen to it and write this ........ It's amazing that I waited this long to yak about this disc, because I normally rant and rave over a disc when its this good right from the word go ..... well, if you notice, I hinted here and there that this is the disc everyone needs to own, and I wanted to get some drool flowing before I nailed this one down ...... Also, I have listened to this disc so many times, any re-buttals here will NOT even make me think twice about what I have said here, this is AWESOME in every way possible, it is without a doubt one of the best melodic, powerful prog metal discs I have ever heard...... and if the hair on my arm standing up is not enough to make me think so, then I don't know what its all about ...... so, here it is: THE STYLE I will mention bands that this may resemble at times, only in comparison to give you an idea of what you are going to be hearing ........ they really do not "sound" like any other band, but I'll put in some little "bits" of other bands to try to back up my words here ............ As I've said, this is melodic, powerful, prog metal at its finest, with an emphasis on MELODIC and POWERFUL ........ they range in style from maybe Dream Theater structured riffs (very few), to MAYBE some new Lethal-styled riffing, to some Tad Morosian styled guitar work ....... the most impressive thing about this band is their ability to be SO powerful, raise your blood pressure, and then suddenly break out the acoustic guitars and bring you WAYYYY down to some beautiful, majestic, power ballads ....... this band has amazing control, and only 1 band comes to recent mind that can do this with as much class an with as much ease as this band does, and that it SUPERIOR ...... and you know that SUPERIOR is one of my all time favorites ......... this band is so smooth, and so at ease with what they are playing, its a pleasure to hear a band that has so much flexibilty with their music that they can go from super powered tunes down to power ballads, and not just because they feel they have to ..... there is a sense of urgency in this band, that drives them to play the music the way they do, just like Superior ........... THE PRODUCTION: If I had one wish, it would be that all progressive metal bands used the same producer as this band does .......... there are very few bands that can match the clarity, crispness and mixture of instruments as this band does .......... this is one of the best sounding discs I have heard .......... anything else that I am getting in at the moment are suffering because I am getting used to this sound, and having a hard time hearing anything less than perfection, which this band gives for sound ............ a pleasure to listen to. Amazingly, the guitarist is the producer of this gem, and he has not only a superb playing ability, but he also has a keen ear on what he wants his band's awesome music to sound like ........... The instruments Well, if my descriptors above make you think that this band has some serious talent based on style and sound alone, wait until you hear what each member has to do to contribute to such a great disc ....... Guitar worshippers, add this guy to your list ....... he not only has produced this gem, he is the solo guitarist in this band, as well as the primary song writer for most of the songs ......... anyone who loves these multi-talented guitarists like I do, then add Wolfgang Kerinnis to your list of heroes to worship ........ take the crispness and heaviness of Petrucci, add some Tad-Morosian styled crunches as well, take one superb sounding acoustic guitar (this guy can and does tone it down lots of times), and take some of the talent that some twin guitar players strive to achieve sonically, and you have this guy ........... The keyboard player is used in more of a background role as creating a wall of sound that bands like Ivanhoe and Threshold use .......... not as a solo instrument, but as a WALL that gives them their "Dreamy" sound ............ Drums and bass player are as talented any other major prog metal band that plays intricate, progressive, melodic, powerful music like this ......... The singer I have to say, and you all know, that my weak spot in progressive metal is the singer .......... saving the best for last, I have to say that I now add this guy (Tobi Zoltan) to my "best singers in prog metal" list ....... Debatable or not, I will go on record to say that this guy resembles a cross between Tom Malicoat (Lethal), Midnight (Crimson Glory), and Mark Vanderbilt (Kamelot) ......... quite an impressive list for an unknown band like this .......... with anything less than the capabilities of this guy, ths band might fall by the wayside and get passed up because the singer couldn't complete the power section needed to keep up with the ferocity of the band ....... this guy pulls it off with ease ..... he is simply marvelous, and if you know my pickiness for singers, have no fear that this guy is one treat to listen to, and I will have hard time believeing that he doesn't sound like or at least rival in power some of the singers I've listed ...... he is THAT good ......... THE COMMENTS Is there any doubt that I am excited about this band ???? Its probably because I can't believe that a band is blowing me away in ways that only a few bands have been known to do .......... I slap myself in the head sometimes when I think that I could have had this disc in my hands about 3 months ago, when I was given a choice of this one or EDGUY, I chose this one ...... not that Edguy is bad, its just that it doesn't compare to this one in terms of power and of what I like about Prog Metal ........ I thought that there would be tons of these floating around, so imagine my mood when I found out that I had to wait 3 months for this ......... Thanks to Erik Welty, I did not even hear this before buying it, and I also say without hesitation, just buy this disc without even hearing it ...... it is definitely one of the BEST melodic, progressive pieces on the planet ............. How a band like this got by me, I'll never know ...... but dont let it happen to you ........... Of noteworthy mention: Glenn Harveston bought this blindly, and Mr DeWhitt has this coming already .... I'll bet large amounts of money that Mr. Harveston gets out here and does headstands about this one .......... and no doubt Doug is going to love this one as well ........ If you like your prog metal melodic, powerful, emotional, and you have a passion for singers as I do, then all of your wishes will be met when you grab this one ...... This disc signifies everything that I love about Prog Metal ........... :O) [This appears to be the first of two that Larry wrote, we included both -ed. PW] More about Trans-like State: Track Listing: Spirits / Fateful Silence / Streets / Changes / One & A Million / Face Your Fears / Loneliness / Decisions / Final Thoughts / It's Not The End / Don't Take Care / Center Of Time / Wall Musicians: Tobi Zoltan - vocals Benno Schmidtler - bass Wolfgang Zerinnis - guitars Bernhard Huber - drums Jan Vacik - keyboards Discography Trance-like State (1997) Very (1998) End Of Silence (2004) Revoiced (2005)