review by: Jez Andrews

I admit that it was NOT the best of ideas to listen to a lot of Rush and Dream Theater before taking my first taste of Andromeda. There are quite a few bands whose music is both complex and diverse, yet effective and accessible at the same time. The true greats are those who create such music without any signs of strain or imitation. Before going any further, it should be pointed out that this, the second album from these rising Swedish metallers, is steeped in Dream Theater influence The shifting time signatures and moods, the jazzy keyboard solos, the soulful vocals, virtuoso basslines, it's all there. Do not, however, imagine that I'm trying to rip into them. The tracks have been recorded fantastically.

The title track sounds like the work of Mike Patton, but despite this and the aforementioned prog metal inspiration, Andromeda have put a great deal of themselves into this album. The song structures have been very well designed, and the very ambience of II=I allows the listener to feel treated to the finer, more cultured side of metal. Yup, Andromenda are among the Frasier Cranes of their art.

After a while, the track listing became more and more meaningless, as I preferred to think of the album as one continuous stream of flashy musicianship and thrilling uncertainty. The band would probably hate me for saying so, but I really don't see this as the kind of stuff you could headbang to, much less play accurate air guitar (though my respect goes out to those who could). The moments of chugging thrash seemed to compliment the background nicely, yet with one snap of the fingers, the guitars could become part of the background themselves. There is something most elegant, and at the same time annoying ly boy band-ish about “Castaway,” but this being the most straight-forward' track, I was willing to overlook any flaws. The one real criticism I have of Andromeda is that they seem to get off on their use of odd time and syncopation. When applied in moderation, it can have most effective results, but these guys are just going overboard, especially on “Parasite” and “One in My Head.”

Rhythmn-wise, one for the Meshuggah fans, and anybody who finds themselves drawn to this album, it would also be worth checking out Planet X's Moon Babies. (7.5/10)