OK, before you start cracking up....LISTEN TO ME!! Why are we reviewing Nelson in the House of Shred?? Because this is *very much* a GUITAR album. And furthermore, because it kicks YOUR ass!! These guys ROCK!! Imaginator is the heaviest album they have ever done, and the best one so far in their career. Imaginator is a concept album that is not very far from reality. I'm not going to give away the plot, you'll have to run out and get it, and I VERY MUCH recommend that you do, not for the plot, but for the music.

For this album Matthew and Gunnar have compiled pretty much the same cast that played on their first album, After The Rain. They have Axe Wizard Brett Garsed with his melodic sweet picking (Check out the solo on "She Gets Down"), handling all the lead guitars. And with drummer extraordinaire Bobby Rock kicking the living CRAP out of his drum set (as usual), and I literally mean just that, you can't lose. But what makes this album great is the quality and strength of the songs. These guys are excellent songwriters. Tracks like the catchy "Kiss Me When I Cry", "We Always Want What We Can't Get", "Do You Believe In Religion?", and the heartfelt ballad "Tell Me" (MetalGod's Pick) provide ecstasy to your ears.

And even though we still get the trademark Nelson harmony vocals, they show the maturity in their voices -- they're not as "poppish" as they were before. There's a certain bluesy kind of raspiness to the vocals that make them so much better and heavier. The album also features a song co-written with Chip and Donnie from Enuff Z'Nuff, the catchy rocker "We're All Alright", as well as a very cool cover song. It's brilliant how the album interacts between the songs and the story, providing dialogue and sound effects a la Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime.

To be honest with you, I LOVE this album. I own over 1000 CD's and for an album to manage to stay in my player for longer than a couple of days without hitting the shelves it has to be REAL good. I just can't stop listening to this album. Let's do some Math here: Awesome Guitars + Great Vocals + Kick-ASS IN YOUR MOTHER-F'N FACE DRUMS + Excellent songs = A WINNER!!! (at least in my book, but of course, I'm not a whining jerk from Seattle...). Go out and score this gem!

-MetalGod

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