Reviewed by Rob Andrews

American prog rock band Ascension Theory was formed as a recording project in 2002 by Tim Becker and Leon Ozug. Tim and Leon both got their start in the progressive metal genre in the band Aztec Jade. For this album, drummer and friend Chad Lenig was recruited to help engineer, write and produce the new material. In truth it's standard offering, with the expected heavy guitar workouts, interlaced with some intricate synth work and broken up half way through by the slower "To Be Content" where Leon sings over just a piano. Then we have two tracks ("The Way Of Death" and "Decisions") with a female lead, Beverley Luse. For me, the lady's contributions seemed to improve what was in danger of being a set of average hard rock tunes. In time honoured progressive rock fashion this is a concept album with a story set in a fictional world where humans live both in a single city on the earth and in a colony on the moon, but have become two isolated and completely different societies. Couldn't quite follow that one! But having said that, there's enough here to recommend 'Answers' to those with progressive rock tastes.

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