Band : Images Of Eden
Album title : Rebuilding The Ruins
Label : Nightmare Records
Distributor : Connecting Music
Release date : 01/03/2011
Release : CD

Since we at Concrete Web never got the chance of reviewing one of this conceptual Progressive Rock/ Metal band's previous albums, I thought I'd give you a complete story on this, singer/ multi-instrumentalist Gordon Tittsworth's brainchild (aha, the guy whom recently came under our attention as singer for his Guatemalan side-project Dread the Forsaken – see review posted 20/12/2010).

Tired of dealing with seemingly endless lack in motivation and competence/ creativity, and having to water down or alter his musical vision time and time again, Gordon left his previous band Out Of Nowhere in the fall of 1998. With strong influences from Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, Type O Negative, Black Sabbath, Dream Theater and other, not necessarily Progressive bands as his musical palate, he entered the Drat Productions studio with session drummer Steve Kilgallon and engineer Bill Dickson in September 1999, to record a full-length album (later to become known as Chapter I)...meant as a stepping board to recruit the suitable members for a full-fledged band with. The album was finished in Spring 2001, and by then Gordon had selected what was to become the “initial” IOE line-up, with Gordon himself responsible for lead vocals/ bass/ keyboards, Dennis Mullin on lead guitar, and Bobby Minter on the drums. In 2003 IOE replaced the latter for Matt Kaiser, and added bassist Brian Gullin to the fold, allowing the band to start playing local & regional gigs in the Baltimore, MD/ York, PA area. Besides winning several band contests, IOE also gained an increasing local notoriety.

In 2004, and just before IOE entered the studio to record their sophomore album Sunlight Of The Spirit, Gullin quit, and it's as a trio that the band records the album. Following some troubles with a first record label (which postponed things quite a lot), the album was eventually released through Nightmare Records in late November 2006. Earlier in the year Bryan Wieman had joined the band as its new bassist. Thanks to Silent Planet Promotions, the new album reaches #17 on the college radio charts for the entire US, within one month after release. But in 2008 both Wieman and Kaiser leave the band, giving Gordon the necessary time to refocus and reform his band. It is during this down-time that he wrote the material for the new album, and that he did some “vocalist for hire” work (for the already mentioned Power Metal/ Hardcore act Dread The Forsaken, but also Texas based Progressive Power Metal act All Too Human).

Rebuilding The Ruins was recorded during 2009 with Gordon and Mullin getting backings from new members Chris Lucci (drums), and L. Dean Harris (piano/ keyboards). Somewhere during the first part of 2010 the band then records its first video for the forthcoming album's track “Tribal Scars”, and in early October releases the 3-track digital-only single by the same title (including a radio edit and album version of the title track and the exclusive “When Heaven Sleeps”). Shortly after IOE signs to Nightmare for the release of their new album. Taking in account the influences mentioned above, fans of Progressive Power Metal should have no  doubt about purchasing this album. I know of at least one example in the written press, where the album is put down, because the reviewer convinced himself that IOE would be a Queensrÿche clone...but I simply cannot compare Tittsworth with Geoff Tate, the two having quite distinct vocal signatures. And while Tate's might be the better known, I kinda prefer Tittsworth's because it is less heady and therefore warmer. Check out the full-lengths, radio edit, and clip of a total of 12 songs on the album at (www.) myspace.com/imagesofeden, as well as the video mentioned above (and 2 songs off the second album). Ooh...before I forget: I mentioned in the first sentence of this article that IOE was conceptual, right? Well, it's an ongoing story, portraying the journey through life, with each album bringing the consecutive part of the story. In order to pull this off, Gordon created an imaginary “Eden” that lies within our minds, body and soul...because it certainly does not exist in a man-made society!

92/100

Tony.