Band:	Twinspirits
Album:	The Forbidden City
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	September 2009

01. The Forbidden City
02. Taste The Infinity
03. Number One
04. Everything
05. One Of Us
06. BTR
07. Hide This Feeling
08. My Future
09. Reaction
10. I Am Free

Twinspirits was a name I'd "heard around the office" about a year or so ago but hadn't heard the music they'd made. Perhaps it's because I'm sometimes apprehensive about Progressive Metal. Their debut album The Music That Will Heal The World has had some good things said about it, so maybe it's a good thing that I'm checking out their new album The Forbidden City.

From the start I had the feeling that The Forbidden City was going to be one for seasoned Progressive Metal listeners. Maybe it was the low key piano intro, or that the first track of the album goes for over ten minutes or even that the whole album is nearly 70 minutes in length. Did I mention that it's a concept album? Once the opening song (the title track of the album) launched it would seem that there was a bit more to it than meets the eye. The overall pace of the album surprised me a little; it's a mid-paced affair and not too technical. Some bands can over-do this I think but Twinspirits in my eyes have got it right in this case. Not to say they aren't talented musicians, just that they don't play at a break-neck speed with ten notes a second just for the sake of it. The overall feeling of The Forbidden City is something that's easy to listen to.

Once the title track had finished (which wasn't a bad song despite the chorus which dragged rather than being catchy) we have an early ballad and then shock as the listener is sucked from the state he/she was put in from the first couple of songs. "Number One" is heavier and faster but also a damn good song; it's extremely well written with a great chorus of guitar strumming with in-time syllables sung from the vocalist Göran Nyström. It's clever and a track that you'll want to hear again and again.

The Forbidden City is worth listening to for the interesting moments that pop up here and there though. Close to the start of the song "Everything" there are solid prominent guitar riffs with accompanying very low back and forth piano notes. In "BTR" there is a bit of harmonised bass and keyboards, transferring to guitar and keys. Parts like this sound great and are quirks that make the album worth listening to.

Overall Twinspirits have done quite a good job with The Forbidden City. There are a few choruses that don't work so well and the length of it might test some people's patience but they've done enough things right to give it a pass from me. You could always listen to it in parts if you're short on time but some people might not want to; it's mostly a pretty accessible and enjoyable piece of Progressive Metal.