Metal Underground.com

One of those few bands that is most decidedly not in the extreme metal realm yet still manages to appeal to metal elitists, 3 has returned to proper form with the new album “The Ghost You Gave To Me” after the more mainstream side trek of “Revisions.” With more metal hooks and all the iconic vocals from Joey Eppard that fans have come to expect, the band’s latest album is constantly entertaining and accessible to both metal and non-metal music lovers.

Thankfully many of the pop elements from “Revisions” are gone this time around, as that foray into mainstream radio pop was a serious turn off for many of the metal fans that liked the way 3 mixed together ideas from two different sides of the equation. “The Ghost You Gave To Me” is much heavier than the last release, and even manages to beat out the stellar “The End is Begun” album on the metal scale. This album is less dark and the mood is consistently more upbeat than on the band’s flagship album, however.

The entire album serves up a helping of prog with a side of metal, and as would be expected there are numerous transitions and changes in sound and structure. The changes occur frequently within songs so that each track has a bit of the heavy, a bit of the melodic, a bit of the mainstream rock, and so on. The only exception is the final track “The Barrier,” which again dips a bit too far into calm and poppy waters. As with 3’s other albums, each track is driven by the front man’s immediately recognizable melodic singing, which has expanded in range and goes in several new directions.

“The Ghost You Gave To Me” has a wide appeal and will fit in well with many music collections, although it is significantly less adventurous than other prog based acts and doesn’t tend to take many chances. Songs like “Numbers” properly mix up the formulas and have plenty of aggression without letting go of the prog rock attitude, while others are more by-the-numbers and mellow.

In many ways, 3 has become like a less avant-garde version of rising progressive act Leprous, focusing more on the rock tone and the melody. If you can dig a mainstream sound interlacing technical and progressive metal, then “The Ghost You Gave To Me” is a solid choice and great change from the standard extreme metal act.