Reviews

...When speaking of musical style then I can tell it is a broad load of modern and progressive rock including movie soundtracks, electronic loops and it is packed with great hooks and very fine performance LaBrie. This music reminds me a lot of Yes, 10CC, Queen and similar rock bands of the 80s. The main focus is on the vocal performance and I think Mr. LaBrie is doing the best job ever. Another fascinating thing is huge amount of solos and huge choral passages which are really catchy. Listening to this piece of progressive modern rock was tremendous experience for me and Frameshift project is the one to be listened to if you want to hear one of the strongest rock releases of this year. It is executed almost to the perfection.
www.metal-revolution.com/plugins/content/content.php?content.1663

Review from Israel in Hebrew
www.metalist.co.il/AlbumReviewprivate.asp?id=125

I’m not going to give in to temptation and call Frameshift’s Unweaving the Rainbow, a new project with Dream Theater singer James LaBrie, the album LaBrie's main band should have released in lieu of the love-it-or-hate-it Train of Thought. But I am going to say that this album sounds more like classic Dream Theater than Train of Thought could ever hope to, and it picks up right about where the first disc of Dream Theater’s Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence left off, both musically and lyrically...I wish I’d have heard Unweaving the Rainbow in time to include it on my Top 10 of 2003 list. Hey, Mr. Editor, can it go to 11?
www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=1115

...Unweaving The Rainbow is a kick in the ass for prog rock fans, as it fairly wipes out what has become a traditional path for the genre's present day flag bearers (see Enchant, Vanden Plas, Threshold). Dream Theater fans - the ones paying the closest attention, at least for now - have likewise been hard hit, especially those that were bowled over by Train Of Thought's dark and heavy direction...
www.bravewords.com/features.html?id=1000283

...If there has been one album, released in the past year, that truly deserves to be called progressive and innovative, but still created with love and passion, it is Frameshift. Although there are influences, hints and references to other bands, it is very hard to compare Frameshift with any other band. First class music, great production and lasting compositions from a man, of whom there should be many more, Henning Pauly. Similar to Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), he knows how to get the best of out other musicians, as shown here by James LaBrie (who later this year will also appear on the new Ayreon album!). Very highly recommended...
www.progpower.de/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=606

Overall, the album is excellent, although the subject matter is very complicated...... The record is filled with a variety of instruments (Warr guitar, Chapman Stick, B3, Scottish Pipes, Mellotron, Middle Eastern Fiddle, Alpenhorn, piano, cello, and the usual instruments, like drums, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and keyboards), which make the album even more progressive, and makes the listener hook up more in the song (banjo in metal!). James LaBrie’s performance is very different from all the multiple projects he has been in (Dream Theater, Mullmuzzler, ELP and Queen Tributes, Leonardo: The Absolute Man).
www.progrock.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=244

...Overall it’s an all around awesome record, not dark by any means, pushing all the doom and gloom bullshit aside, almost in many cases sounding like a coked up version of OSI. To sum it all up, it tends to be a perfect cross between Images and Words and Feel Euphoria with a little more of a soundscape environment involved, otherwise it makes for one great album, and don’t be surprised if you too are blown away by it.
www.prog4you.com/cd-reviews-12-03/Frameshift.htm

...LaBries’ vocals are used to their fullest on every track; some of the compositions feature his voice in layers, as if he was answering himself with a chorus. Its very provocative and quite beautiful, and really a marvelous feat of mixing and engineering. So there you have it, a story, great music, and technical wizardry all wrapped up in one album…an effective combination of all the right elements, making this one of the prog-rock albums of the year.
www.music-sites.net/articles/show.php?id=550

Review is in Germany, but rated "Album of the Year" for 2003.
www.metal-inside.de/mi/review/3123

Review is in French, but very highly rated
antithetik.free.fr/frameshift.html

...Frameshift seems to exist between many known progressive subgenres, which is always a good place to be, it means that the artists involved are constantly expanding the set boundaries of the musical spectrum, Pauly's intentions of using the complex and diversity of creating film scores and translating them into progressive music, has proven to be a success from what I am hearing on this cd, this is one well worth your attention.
www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBCDInfo.asp?txtCDID=10345

...Here on Frameshifte, Henning built the project around James’ vocals and added insturmentation that fitted properly. To me this is the way it should be done if you have a frontman in any type of band. This is a true progressive recording thanks mainly to multi-instrumentalist Henning Pauly. This guy is by far one of the most underrated musician in music today, progressive or not. He incorporates musical instruments not associated with prog metal such as Warr Guitar and Banjo...This is, in my humble opinion, Progrock Records crowning achievement. I just hope it gets the proper exposure and let’s also hope it doesn’t get overshadowed by Dream Theater’s Train of Thought release. Please do your ears a great favor and buy this release. Heck buy two copies and spread the word. Frameshift is here!
www.geocities.com/prognaut/reviews/frameshift.html

...listen to the album several times and you will be “hooked”. Right from the start with The Gene Machine, which is filled with excellent guitar hooks, dreamy keyboard parts and awesome vocals, you will love this album. Message From The Mountain, the longest track, starts with a bombastic musical intro and later on it turns into a very melodic rock song, with dominant keyboards and James singing like a young god. On this track, his vocals remind me of the part he sang on the Leonardo-Project; really top notch. For listeners who like their music a bit heavier, there are songs like Nice Guys Finish First (mysterious, complex and filled with staccato guitar riffs) or Cultural Genetics, a song with some Dream Theater characteristics...
www.dprp.net/reviews/200406.html

...LaBrie's style is similar to his second Mulmuzzler project with clean angelic vocals, many times overdubbing himself with backing harmonies from his own voice. Pauly, on the other hand, is a jack-of-all-trades, but far from being a master-of-none. Pauly is well-studied in the art of progressive music, mainly the side-projects involving members of Dream Theater as he concocts creations that range from Liquid Tension Experiment all the way to Transatlantic. If that's not enough, he takes this a hop, skip, AND a jump further by integrating funky, groovy, and symphonic elements that are seemingly out of place, but often intriguing. Pauly not only provides some excellent songwriting, but supplies the music with guitar, bass, synthesizer, piano, B3, Warr Guitar, banjo, hand percussion, loop programming, orchestration, and even engineering and mixing. The music is a perfect blend between rock and metal offering up pieces that are sometimes heavy-handed, sometimes slow and sweeping, but mostly a combination of the two within the same piece. I found myself staggered a few times with many incantations that first lulled me into a trance and then jumped out from around a corner to grab my attention...
www.bigbaddwolf.com/reviews.htm

...But, in the end, it’s not just LaBrie’s vocals or Pauly’s songs that make Unweaving The Rainbow great album. Instead, Unweaving The Rainbow transcends the sum of its parts to provide an eclectic, rocking experience that should satisfy even the most discriminating progressive rock listeners, one that needs to be heard to be believed.
www.progressiveworld.net/frameshift2.html

Little in this world will ever top the sheer joy that blossoms the very first time that James LaBrie sings on Unweaving The Rainbow. His first utterances on “Above The Grass Part I” are the stuff that careers are made of. And, given the amount of albums that LaBrie’s lent his talents to and given the number of those that are forever fixed in the firmament of brightly-shining progressive rock moments, that’s saying something...
www.ytsejam.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=485

...To give you an idea of what the music represents, it should be defined as a prog rock with some metal extracts that carries on the journey of the giants of the past like Yes (some echoes in "Nice Guys Finish First") and Gentle Giant ("Spiders"). Moreover, there are a lot of ballads where Labrie gives his best, like "La Mer." Plus some orchestral arrangements like the music of film scores and a few cool electronic loops, all done with perfect production. In my opinion, it's one of the best releases of the year.
www.progressiveworld.net/frameshift4.html

...DG: When we talked in the last interview, you hadn't recorded the vocal tracks yet. Now, what is your consideration about James' job? HP: James is a great guy - Period. His work ethic is amazing. He is very focused and I have never met anyone who knows his voice is such great detail. After working with him for two weeks and becoming friends I am really looking forward to working with him again if that opportunity should ever arise, because now we can jump right into the creative parts instead of breaking down barriers first ... you know ... getting to know each other, etc...
www.progressiveworld.net/paulyh2interv.html

German review at Rock and Metal Heaven
www.sonny1968.de/reviews/reviews1103.htm#Frameshift

...With acoustic and electronic underpinnings, Unweaving The Rainbow emerges modern and post-modern. Its digital surface never repels; it embraces emotion, but with mechanical touches. Illustrating that seeming dichotomy are "Message From The Mountain," whose grandiose opening simply mesmerizes. As yin to that yang, "Your Eyes" unspools acoustic guitar and voice. Simple and refreshing. Arguably Labrie's shining moment is "La Mer." The way he hangs notes above Pauly's piano melodies reassures the spirit. Those willing to follow Pauly and Labrie on this singular journey will reap riches. Just don't expect Dream Theater
www.electricbasement.com/review873.htm

Spanish review of Frameshift
www.lacortefinal.com/notas/archives/2004_01.html

Excellent interview with Henning Pauly
www.electricbasement.com/interview_frameshift_march2004.htm

Interview with James LaBrie on Frameshift
www.dprp.net/specials/labrie0304/index.php