Time is a wild thing. It can bless just as easily it can curse with music something that’s a true roll of the dice when it comes to whether or not time will be an asset to those that persevere as artists. All too often do we see musicians take several years to make new creations only for the new material to pale in comparison to what came before, but it’s all the same that we see bands move far too quickly, not allowing their ideas to fully mature with the music in question not given the space it deserves. For many, two years isn’t nearly enough time for an artist to craft something that can truly stand toe-to-toe with its preceding creations. In defiance of those odds, Moonscape’s fourth album is a true triumph.

For all that it can be, progressive metal can meander quite a bit in its long, winding journey to whatever destination is in mind. The sheer possibilities and opportunities can be downright overwhelming for any musicians to get a proper handle of should they not know precisely what they’re doing along every step of the way. Moonscape is far from a stranger of overcoming such hurdles as its previous works, and it’s in the vast expanse that’s explored throughout the 42-minute continuation of the “Entity” saga, “Chapter III: A Sudden Glimpse of Clarity”, that we see moments of Moonscape as its most daring and colorful. This is a creation that, like Moonscape has pulled off before, feels designed to be experienced in a single massive listen with all the different flavors and notions flowing into one another, and it would be an outright shame to insinuate anything less than success has been achieved in these twelve installments. An emotionally charged creation that builds off what Moonscape has been carefully composing since its debut album nine years ago, “A Sudden Glimpse of Clarity” is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and intensity. Just as capable of breaking your very spirit down before building you back up, Moonscape navigates its ambition with passion, precision, and a deep knowledge of the elusive nature of progressive metal itself. The sheer scale of this record is both tempered and expanded upon by the numerous guest musicians that further elevate this work to become something that’s damn near a mandatory listen for those who portend to be a fan of what progressive metal can be in the hands of the unafraid.

In the hands 0f even a somewhat conventional musician, this is the sort of effort that either would’ve taken several years to get to this point or would’ve effortlessly fallen flat should it have been deemed complete in the same time. Moonscape has proven itself to be a competent stalwart of what progressive metal can and should be when it’s allowed to unfurl and expand into something special with this record more than enough to cement this act as one of the genre’s most engaging and interesting.

LISTEN to “Entity, Chapter III: A Sudden Glimpse of Clarity” on Bandcamp here.

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