The sixth Magellan album (titled as Symphony for a Misanthrope) has taken form, and this time 'round the Gardner brothers have decided to stick with the classical approach familiar from Impossible Figures (2003). Nonetheless, there are also metal sections as well as the "basic" progrock sections included on their compositions. The mastermind behind Magellan, Trent Gardner, has been an active member on the progrock scene for quite a while already... when he's not working on Magellan material, he's either working on Explorer's Club material or working on various sideprojects (with well-known artists such as James LaBrie, Tony Levin, Steve Walsh, and countless others).

I must admit that Trent Gardner's compositions tend to vary slightly in terms of quality... not all of his compositions are apposite. For example, I wasn't that impressed with the previous Magellan album "Impossible Figures". Therefore, I had my reservations regarding this new album. However, the album opener "Symphonette" managed to impress me. Unfortunately all the material on this album isn't of the same high quality as the album opener, but there are some other great moments on this record as well. Overall, the material on "Symphony for a Misanthrope" is quite good as opposed to "Impossible Figures", which was bit of a disappointment in my book. Nonetheless, the lyrical content of this album isn't of very high quality at all times.

Production-wise there's some room for improvement. Although the sounds are clear and atmospheric, I would have preferred slightly different guitar tone... Sometimes it feels that some of the sounds are a bit too processed as well. Nonetheless, long-time fans of Magellan will probably find this release worth a try... "Symphony for a Misanthrope" has its moments, but at times the material is somewhat middling.

Release date: April 18th, 2005

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- MAGE (April 17th, 2005)

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LINE-UP:
Gardner, Trent: Vocals, Keyboards Gardner, Wayne: Guitars, Bass & Backing vocals with Franco, Joe: Drums, Orchestral Percussion Berry, Robert: Drums & Bass on "Why Water Weeds?" Walsh, Steve: Keyboards on "Symphonette" Manion, David: Keyboards on "Symphonette"
Producer:	Unavailable
Mixing by:	Unavailable
Mastering by:	Unavailable

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Symphonette 02. Why Water Weeds? 03. Wisdom 04. Cranium Reef Suite part one: "Youthful Enthusiasm" part two: "Psych 101" part three: "Primal Defense" 05. Pianissimo Intermission 06. Doctor Concoctor 07. Every Bullet Needs Blood Length: 46:57