I admit that when I heard that album for the first time I found it a little strange. It's the kind of music that you need to listen to 5 or 6 times before you really appreciate it fully. And even then, with time you can like it more and more. I should also add that I didn't know "Spock's Beard" before but I wanted to try one of their album for some time now since I find their name quite funny (yeah, I'm a trekkie too).

Even the structure of the CD is a bit weird since it starts with a 16 minutes song (with the usual progressive breaks). Quite cool but it could have been a bit shorter. Then there are 4 shorter songs (4-6 min.). One of them "Thoughts (part II)" (and there is no part I ;) is the real killer of the album. A wonderful progressive song a little bit crazy but full of genius at the same time. Now I've told you about 5 of the 6 songs, and that's 50% of the record. Yes, I know how to count, it's just that the last song (The Great Nothing) lasts nearly half an hour! It has many parts and is a very good prog song but I would have prefered if it had been 10 minutes shorter. That way there could have been more short songs.

I labelled their style "progressive rock" since except for a few very short parts it can't be called metal. It's very melodic and soft. The singer has a great voice and the musicians are very good. I'm getting tired of saying that but the production is once again perfect. The rest is a matter of taste. I have a slight preference for the heavier side of prog and would have liked some songs to be a few minutes shorter.

All in all, it's a good progressive release and all fans of the genre should at least try it.