Third Ending, The - T3E

Year of Release: 2007
Label: ProgRock Records
Catalog Number: PRR222
Format: CD
Total Time: 54:19:00

They say all good things take time. So let me write you down a little time line: Early 2006 a new band started working on an album. Four months later, the album was ready and available for purchase at the website. Six months after that, the band signed a deal with ProgRock Records. Another four months later, the band had to delay the official release, since in the pre-sales, all copies of the album had already sold out! So it took another two months before the album was finally available in stores worldwide.

This is a pretty incredible story, isn't it? Sometimes this happens to bands and it is a sign this is music you shouldn't miss out on. So here I need to apologize to you, dear visitors of this website ... for the fact that it took me another three months to finally write this review of this album. And I'll have to tell you: I have listened to the album several times, always with the idea to review it, and every time I thought "this is a great album."

Well then ... what is so great about this album that I should apologize to you? In short: this is an incredibly good album. It is as if these guys filtered out some of the best aspects of progressive rock and poured that into their debut album. I hear hints of Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater and much more, but never too much. No, The Third Ending definitely has their own sound. Everything is right on this album: the way the songs are arranged, the timing, the different atmospheres the album offers. The album is mellow, laidback, sometimes driven, passionate, but always captivating and inspiring.

In the voice of Nick Storr I hear hints of Mark McCrite (Rocket Scientists) but also of Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan, which gives the sound at times a touch of melancholy. The keyboards add some spacey elements, resulting in a modern sound, although I find the album to be a perfect blend of old school melodic rock and the more contemporary prog rock.

The songs are backed by a solid rhythm section and the album is laced with fingerlicking guitar play. Melodic, heavy, bluesy, with great solos. "Tungsten Blues" is a good example of the instrumental power of the band. But "Can You Hear Me" is a maybe the best calling card for the band. It begins as a kind of ballad, with great vocals (where I hear the hint of Billy Corgan) and a nice piano and acoustic guitar part, which flows over into a fantastic (electric guitar) solo. One my personal favourites is "Digital Sunrise": very crunchy guitars, more crunchy guitars and to top it off, tasty crunchy riffs by Andrew Curtis :-) ... the only downside is that the ending is too short...

And all songs are like that. This album is very strong from start to finish. A very impressive debut album and I can imagine this was sold out very quickly. There is not a weak song on the album. The band members are all very talented musicians and I think it will be a real treat to see them live.

The self-titled debut album of The Third Ending is simply stated a must-have for all fans of melodic and progressive music. It is guaranteed to satisfy the needs of the ears and the brain and will definitely end up in many top ten lists over 2007. It will definitely be in mine and from now on I will make sure I give this fantastic album more than enough time in my CD player :-)

Tracklisting:
Eleven / Back Home / Tungsten Blues / Can You Hear Me? / Fingerprints / Digital Sunrise / Cold Light Of Day / Falling / Part V / Coming Around / Fingerprints (reprise)

Musicians:
Nick Storr - vocals, keyboards and occasional guitars
Andrew Curtis - guitars, samples and vocals
Cornel Ianculovici - bass guitar and vocals
Andrew Knott - drums, percussion, programming and occasional vocals

Discography:
T3E (2006)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: September 17th 2007
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: www.thethirdending.com
Hits: 5621
Language: english