PROTOTYPE – Continuum

While their name insinuates that it’s a work in progress, this album is mostly prime and polished. The only part that needs to be acquired is on the listener’s part. The singer has a nasally voice and he’s sometimes out of tune. Aside from that, his range is similar to James Hetfield. Besides a lot of posturing and thrashing, the music is along the lines of Metallica too.

Flopping right into the driver’s seat, “The Way It Ends”, ironically, is a good way to start an album. In other words, it’s a solid cut and just as smart as babying the product on the way out of the dealer’s lot. Not to mention, it’s a dish best served warm, because the remainder of this album swells and palpitates like a hot, sweaty blister.

The power ballad, “Devotion”, is one of the few exceptions. If Continuum were The Black Album, it would be “The Unforgiven”. However, in this test drive, they spin their wheels on the backroads in an isolated bout of road rage. Afterwards, “With Vision” revs the engine in a gush of convulsive notes. Keeping rubber to the road, tricky time-signatures stick. This limited slip in tandem with torque impressively demonstrates their traction control.

They continue to have their fun; accelerating and cornering like a fleet of speedy Mini Coopers. Among the sport-tuned features, “Synthespian” undulates like Rush.

Also, to digress for a sec, “Sea of Tranquility” is a short instrumental that gives them a chance to pump the gas and “Undying” does some idling at the stoplights. At one and a half minutes, the first is not a song per se, and whilst the latter is more or less immobile; it’s still pretty cool. So, the initial pitch is not the kind of outright lie you’d get from a used car salesman. In the grand scheme, the album is mostly unleashed energy.

Driving this point home, “Transcendent Velocity” and “Seed” are overclocked; almost risking blowout. As for add-ons absent from the sticker, their sound bytes parallel the creepy ones used in Karmakanic’s Entering the Spectra.

In any case, once you’ve finished taking the album for a spin, you’ll be sold; especially if you strolled onto the showroom floor because you’re a fan of bands like Metallica . From its sound production to its stylings, Prototype is ready for general consumption (and quite possibly a name change).