Artist: Various Artists
Title: “Music In Progress” V2
Label: InsideOut Music
Release Date: 4/13/2010
Genre: Progressive Metal
Rating: 4/5

I once heard a saying that went “If It’s Free It’s For Me”, and I have to admit that this is totally my mindset these days based on the dismal economy that we are in. I’m not alone in this of course and it seems that at every turn the consumer is watching their spending habits a whole lot more than ever before and this makes preview releases such as this latest offering from InsideOut Music all the more appealing. Even though this is free you might be wondering what would lead you to set aside the time to download these particular tunes and this is especially going to be the case if you have no idea about anything that InsideOut Music has brought to the table over the past few years. That being said let me educate those who might be unaware and say that this label has long been a leading provider of quality Progressive Metal music. For years they gave us stuff like OSI, IQ, Symphony X and King’s X along with Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic to name a choice few and with that being said you can safely adventure forward with no level of fear. Even though I mentioned some of the bigger bands its safe to say that if you have enjoyed this genre in any fashion then you have likely been listening to a number of the other bands on their roster and can attest to the level of quality that they dish out on its behalf. This edition is listed as “Vol. 2” and it clocks in at twelve stunning tracks which will totally do the trick and find the downloader investigating the presented artists a little deeper at the end of the day. This alone is a good thing because if by giving us a healthy sample of their amazing talent, the listeners might very well go out and purchase a full album afterward and that makes it a win-win situation in a very trying time in the music industry.

Looking over the tracks that are being offered up one can clearly do no wrong with Symphony X who seems to get better and better with every album based on just how much of a punch they pack for the Progressive Metal fan. Their album “Paradise Lost” received accolades that were too numerous to count. We also get the latest from Metal mastermind Devin Townsend and it’s the track that features Anneke van Giersbergen (formerly of The Gathering) and its interesting to hear how her beautiful register works within the framework of a DT composition. King’s X are journeymen whose work is always respectable and if you love Dream Theatre you know you will support the offerings by James LaBrie, Redemption and OSI. Riverside is a band that I need to listen to more of because it’s just so impressive and I am sure you will agree with me after hearing them and Ayreon, well this man is an icon in Prog-Metal and really can do little wrong in my book. I’ll leave the rest to your own discovery and highly recommend that you bring down the whole thing because what does it hurt by being free and all.

Volume 1 of this release is available on I-Tunes but that one will cost you five bucks and I had to say shame on your I-Tunes for charging the fans for a sampler edition. The amount of money that they make on downloadable music is staggering but if they are paying out a respectable percentage of this to the bands whose music it is then I am ok with it. Let’s hope for more samplers like this and in the end ones that surpass a small track number. There are plenty of bands that can benefit from this, and I say feature a little bit more for the next time.

Track Listing:
1. Set The World On Fire (the Lie Of Lies) – Symphony X
2. Hyperdrive – Devin Townsend Project
3. Age Of Shadows – Ayreon
4. Linoleum – Pain Of Salvation
5. Move – King’s X
6. Walls – Redemption
7. The Escape Artist – Osi
8. With Honor – Shadow Gallery
9. Crucify – James Labrie
10. Hyperactive – Riverside
11. Ripples – Aspara
12. Paroxetine 20mg – The Tangent

Official Website: http://www.insideoutmusic.com/