From the moment Pete Townshend wrote a rock opera based on a deaf dumb and blind kid named Tommy, the concept album was born.

Over the last four decades many of rock's elite have tackled the idea of writing an album constructed around one central tale. Everyone from David Bowie to Alice Cooper through to Nine Inch Nails and Green Day. Hell, even Blackie Lawless made a fairly decent attempt at a concept album, with 'The Crimson Idol' only to destroy its legacy a few years later when he took it a bit too far with his duel concept albums 'Neon God' Parts 1 and 2.

Fast-forward to 2010 and we have a new contender for the concept album and that is Columbus Ohio's Jacobs Dream with their fifth album 'Beneath The Shadows'. This is an album that is being likened to the Queensryche masterpiece 'Operation Mindcrime', so being the number one and some would say possibly only fan of Queensryche in the Übercamp, I have been given the honour of reviewing the aforementioned album.

'Beneath The Shadows' is a story created by the Jacobs Dream's vocalist Chaz Bond, and it revolves around a fictional character named Camren, who has an idyllic life, great job, beautiful wife and family but has much darker past that he desperately tries to forget, involving drug addiction. After Camren loses his job, he decides to contact an old drug dealer friend, and quickly he becomes involved with drugs once more, losing everything he holds dearly, including his family and his best friend who dies of a drug overdose.

The album opens in a great style with the number 'Welcome To My World' where we get introduced to the character of Camren for the first time. Through the course of the album we are taken on a journey of self discovery, as Camren battles to make the right choices in his life.

Along the way, reality hits the character as he finally accepts he is to blame for his downfall, displayed wonderfully in the track 'Illusive Dream', whilst also illustrating the fantastic heavy metal wonderment of Chaz Bond's vocals. In the band's press release Chaz has been compared with Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson but just listening to his deep, dark tones he has far more in common with Nevermore/Sanctuary vocalist Warell Dane, a singer that I have championed on more than one occasion.

'The Hell I Breath' takes the character to a world of guilt and pain, soon followed by 'The Darkest Hour' where during the chorus you can hear the female voice of his daughter, the only thing that keeps him alive. The album finishes with an afterthought in 'The Blessing And The Curse' as he reflects on the decision to alter his life and hand himself over to the authorities.

Overall I think Jacob's Dream have managed to pull out a fairly impressive attempt of the concept album here, although I did find listening to the album as a whole a bit repetitive at times.

After listening to 'Beneath The Shadows' I would definitely like to hear more from Jacobs Dream, especially the metal vocals behind the tale. For me personally, I enjoyed the album but it was no 'Seventh Son For A Seventh Son'.

http://www.myspace.com/jacobsdream