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I wanted to like this. I really did. But all I can really say is "OK folks, move along, show's over, nothing to see here." That's the impression I'm left with after multiple spins of Firestorm's latest release, Web of Deceit. This is generic Progressive Power Metal at its most generic. There really aren't any new ideas here and it mostly sounds like everything that's come before.

Web of Deceit is drenched with keyboards and has a vaguely mid-80s Rush vibe to it, minus the stellar production. The bass is way back in the mix giving the album a very "light" sound. Singer Ricardo Curzi has a decent voice, except on the high notes, when it can sound pretty annoying. This is most evident in the chorus of "Falling into Alienation." Several songs feature tempo changes that instead of smoothly shifting gears to change the mood of the song, serve as speed bumps that serve only to interrupt the flow. "Tempus Fugit" has a spoken word break in the middle with some heavily accented quotes from the movie "A Few Good Men" and, in one of the weirdest decisions I've heard, Firestorm chose to end "Pictured by the Moon" with a few bars from the theme song from the Benny Hill Show! WTF?!? The only real standout here is "Shadows in my Mind," which has a very catchy chorus and some good back forth between the guitars and keyboards.

Web of Deceit sounds uninspired to me and I would recommend it only to the most devoted of progressive metal fans.