CoC : Brain Toy - Screaming Volumes : Review

Brain Toy - _Screaming Volumes_
(Cerebral Records, 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (6 out of 10)

Progressive metal/classical trio Brain Toy's debut album radiates creativity and a definite knack for being able to project thoughts and visions through music, but rarely sparks any interesting and memorable numbers. While a large portion of the material is reminiscent of Dream Theater and Rush, Brain Toy manages to incorporate their own take on progressive metal throughout the album's nine numbers. The band shifts from up-tempo, aggressive numbers onto more slowly tuned, melodic numbers that flow very gracefully at times and do allow for some versatility to shine through but as mentioned before nothing stands out. The introduction and use of classical styles mixed with progressive metal styles works off each other quite well as seen on numbers like "Shadows", "Wash Your Guilt Away", and "Silhouette".

(article published 4/2/1997)