Cain The Master Clockwork
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
The Master Clockwork is the debut offering from Swedish progressive metal band Cain. The Kalmar-based band has been kicking around since 2003, opening for bands as varied as Mustasch and CrashDiet. Cain has a fairly straightforward, middle of the road progressive metal sound. They’re not as dark as Evergrey, as “out there” as Pain of Salvation or as instantly accessible as Pagan’s Mind. The members of Cain are clearly influenced by bands like Dream Theater and Fates Warning, and take a pretty melodic approach (they’re Swedish after all) to the genre, not unlike Circus Maximus.
The Master Clockwork features nine songs (none reaching the 6-minute mark) totaling just 40 minutes. It’s probably not a good sign that it felt like twice that amount listening to the album. Now, the lack of self-indulgent 10-minute instrumental passages and multi-part conceptual suites is quite refreshing, especially for a band that appears to have more than enough technical ability to pull off that kind of thing, but between the bland songwriting and “been there, done that” feel, it’s hard to love an album like The Master Clockwork. The musicianship and vocals are perfectly solid, but there’s just nothing here that makes you run out and tell your friends “dude, you’ve got to hear this!”
The Master Clockwork is a totally decent progressive metal album, and one that is at least as good as any album by Halcyon Way, Mindflow, or anything released by say, the Nightmare Records label. Unfortunately it’s really nothing you haven’t heard before. The progressive metal arena has only become more crowded over the past decade, which requires new bands to push the envelope (and their own talents) to stand out from the rest of the pack. Bands like Circus Maximus, Voyager and Leprous, for example, have done just that. Cain has not, at least with this release. The potential and the talent are definitely there, but The Master Clockwork just doesn’t rise above the tide. If you’re crazy about progressive metal and haven’t yet reached that burnout point, by all means give Cain a try. Just don’t expect to hear the next Symphony X or Pain of Salvation.
Lineup:
Patrick Stomberg – Vocals
Pontus Lundin – Guitar
Joel Eriksson – Guitar
Tobias Jonsson – Bass
Andreas Grauffman – Drums
Stefan Runberg – Keyboards
Track Listing:
1. Intelligence 101
2. Lost Forever More
3. The Master Clockwork
4. Level 6:14
5. Red Water
6. Mourning Star
7. Breather Field
8. The Dead and the Calm
9. Sink
Online: www.myspace.com/cainswe
HRH Rating: 5.5/10