Bother - Losing Time

1. Free
2. Solitude
3. Return To Athens
4. Losing Time
5. Faith

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Total Playing Time:  30:24 m:s

Review date: 12/01/2000

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Whenever a new progressive metal band comes to my attention, these days I immediately expect yet another Dream Theater clone. Bother avoid this pitfall by employing two guitarists and dispensing with the services of a keyboard player. Indeed, for want of a better comparison, my initial shot at describing the Bother sound involved mentioning early Metallica. I think this initial impression was compounded by the somber lyrics which all focus on looking on life from a fairly jaded viewpoint. It was actually when I was listening to the new Dream Theater album, just after listening to Bother, that it stuck me that a few DT-isms do creep into Bother's work, but I don't think I'd have noticed under other circumstances.

Whilst there are examples of shredding guitar passages, Bother thankfully stick to regular song structures and don't forget that they're playing songs. I find many progressive acts simply create musical passages, which (possibly) other musicians can appreciate, but which leave the rest of us fast asleep. Singer, Sean McKnight, keeps the vocals in the middle registers which gives the album a slightly modern feel. One of the problems I have with many progressive metal acts, e.g. Fates Warning, are ridiculously the high pitched vocals.

The first couple of tracks, "Free" & "Solitude", are slow to mid-tempo numbers that feature some heavy duty riffing. At 8:26 m:s "Return To Athens" is the most obviously progressive track on the album. Although the track does contain the obligatory tempo changes, the overall feel is more urgent than the opening duo. With about 2:30 m:s to go the guitars 'come out to play' and the song terminates in suitably heavy style. The title track reminded me in places of Awake era Dream Theater. The final track, "Faith", continues to stick to the formula established earlier, but is the track which comes closest to having a 'hook'.

In a genre where many new acts seem content to plagiarize from Dream Theater, Fates Warning etc, it is good to see Bother forging their own path. Although I'm not adverse to the odd touch of metallic riffing, that path is erring on the heavy side for my personal tastes. Perhaps a little bit more variety might have I led me to a different conclusion. For those of you with a more metal orientated outlook than myself, Bother are a band to investigate. I will certainly be keeping an eye on what the band get up to in the future.

This self-financed EP-length debut CD is available through the Bother web site and www.CDbaby.com .