Futures End - Memoirs Of A Broken Mind

Now this is one killer concept album/story. The disc tells of a Iraq war vet and his time back in the States and his mental/spiritual instability in a full on tech metal masterpiece.
Blending thrash/power/traditional/prog metal quite convincingly and with conviction, Futures End has a strong musical pedigree:

Quote :

Here we have a technical metal band, the ferocity of their playing is only matched by the amount of melody brought forth by vocalist Fred MarshalL (Ex - Zero Hour), Fred brings forth an interesting vibe similar to that of Layne Staley, yet not soundling like him. Featuring veteran rhythm section Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Autopsy, Control Denied, Testament, Vintersorg, Iced Earth, and Sadus) and Jon Allen (Sadus, Testament, and Dragonlord) Christian Wentz (Circle II Circle) and one of the most downloaded guitarists from mp3.com Mark Pattison.

The packaging on this record is awesome. The cover art is very trippy, but I hear it will be changing on the next pressing due to issues with the artist. The first six pages of the booklet fill in the story with a first person account (in the form a of a long, but coherent ramble) of the writer's inability to cope with reality - before, during and after his tour of duty. Lyrics and thank you's and credits finish offf the last six pages.
More on the band at the site : http://www.futuresendmusic.com