Reviews

This is by far the heavier of the two Frameshift albums, understandably due to the themes. There isn’t one track here that I automatically reach for the ‘skip’ button, the whole album is just that good. It has a flow that leaves you wondering what happened to the last 75 minutes, as it goes by without even noticing its length. Human Grain, Just One More and Miseducation provide a fantastic opening 1-2-3 punch of heavi-ness right out of the gate; In An Empty Room and What Kind of Animal are the emotional and touching ballads, with both Bach and Pauly pouring their heart into the music; in a paradox, I Killed You and How Long Can I Resist are a couple of upbeat and fun tracks; Blade is the epic of the album, providing a haunting drum beat and choir to support the passionate screams of Bach as the character defends his land from oppressors.
www.ladyobscure.com/albums/frameshift-absence-of-empathy

Interview with Henning
www.popmatters.com/music/interviews/pauly-henning-050912.shtml

...From track four, I Killed You, I started wondering whether this was extremely good or extremely bad. Through bouts of Push the Button, In an Empty Room and Blade, I kept wondering. By the end, What Kind of Animal, (aptly titled when applied to this project) I was sold! I’m sure that months from now, this will be one of my favourite albums. Certainly unusual and original, definitely worth having!
www.webcandesign.com/ajmusicmedia/Without_FL/iframes/iframe_artists/reviews/original/frameshift_absence_of_empathy.asp

...This near seventy four minute album contains twelve tracks, which make the story unfold during the given time length, and has a Dream Theater feel to it, both in style and lyrics. Henning himself plays all the instruments except the drums which are played by Eddie Marvin who appeared on the Chain album too. So all the guitars, keys, bass, banjo and piano are performed in a manner in which you would think would be close to the Chain style, but this is more of a Rock style. From the opening radio switching station similar to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here on the first track Human Grain, sets the scene and scope of the album. The ballad type I Killed You clocks in at a plentiful nine minutes, and is for me the album's highlight. Sebastian Bach's voice flows on this track, and further on track seven In An Empty Room which is another ballad type song, which Henning's rising guitar solo gives the song a nice feel. The banjo is heard on this track, and with the Gangland vocals from a host of people including Micheal Sadler make this song a important piece of the story...
www.hairlessheartherald.co.uk/frameshift_-_an_absence_of_empathy.htm

French review
www.musicinbelgium.net/pl/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=796

Italian review
www.antenna2.it/radio/rockinvasion.htm

Dutch review
www.fileunder.nl/archives/2005/05/frameshift_an_a.php

...As for the music, the work is sometimes hard rock in the Skid Row vein ("Just One More"), sometimes more calm (like the wonderful ballad "In An Empty Room") or sometimes highly dramatic ("When I Look Into My Eyes"). The disk is quite varied, strongly produced and has high-quality cohesion. It can be defined as a mix of hard rock and progressive with a lot of programming and sound experiments Even if the album is very different from anything Pauly has done previously, it's very easy discovering his touch and style in the guitar playing, strings and keys arrangements...
www.progressiveworld.net/frameshift6.html

German review
www.wallsoffire.de/Reviews/show_review.php3?kritik_id=5404

Italian review
www.hmp.it/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=4394

...Based on a concept by ProgRock Records honcho Shawn Gordon, An Absence of Empathy acknowledges that violence is inherent in all human beings and explores the factors that determine why and how individuals let violence manifest itself within them. It’s dark and compelling stuff. But while such lyrics as “Me and you alone now/Are you frightened are you scared/Let my little toy show you how/To scream so loud no one can hear” take a bite out of your imagination, the music is unexpectedly exuberant. Granted, this is an aggressive album that’s not for the weak of heart or mind, but the arena rock thrill of “Just One More,” which takes listeners into the mind of a serial killer, and the progressive-metal grandiosity of its counterpart, the nine-minute “I Killed You,” which tells the tale of a stable person pushed over the edge, come off as, um, fun songs masked by disturbing undercurrents. “This Is Gonna Hurt,” in which the song’s main character tortures a victim, hypnotizes with a bludgeoning rhythm section, and “When I Look Into My Eyes” allows the torturer to examine his conscience to engrossing industrial-metal beats. Other themes include war (the sleaze-metal anthem “Push the Button” and the tribal “Blade”), school violence (the alt-metal racket of “Miseducation” and the mid-tempo rock of “Outcast”), rape (“In An Empty Room,” a heart-rending saga of shame and one of the album’s two ballads, and the manic “How Long Can I Resist,” about a man trying to resist the urge to violate a woman). An Absence of Empathy closes with an element of hope with “What Kind of An Animal,” in which the song’s protagonist realizes that the children of today are either the peacemakers or the killers of tomorrow: “The answer’s somewhere on this globe/It’s not in politics/Religion cannot fix/Should we turn towards our young.”..
www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=2422

German review
www.sonny1968.de/reviews/2005/reviews0405.htm#Frameshift

Interview with Henning Pauly
www.progressiveworld.net/paulyh4interv.html

French review
www.musicinbelgium.net/pl/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=828

... Bach's vocal talents shine like never before as his shattering screams and soulful voice throw the listener back and forth on an emotional rollercoaster through the concept of violence that was chosen for his Frameshift debut. Bach is at his best with this release with possibly his strongest vocals ever. It's nice to see him let loose and carry himself to the next level. This album is strongly recommended to everyone who is a fan of heavy music, progressive rock, and fans of the straight forward hard rock of Bach's past...
www.seasonswilted.com/frameshift.htm

Interview with Sebastian and Henning
www.bravewords.com/features.html?id=1000365

Italian review
www.arlequins.it/pagine/articoli/alfa/corpo.asp?iniz=F&fine=G&ch=2834

...The brutal visions are the bulk of An Absence Of Empathy; each song has a thematic counterpart where the dreamer takes on a variety of personalities. Rape, torture, murder, war and school shootings are viewed from different angles, mostly that of the actors and the ones acted upon. If you think by now that this is pretentious and can only translate into much too brainy music, you are wrong. Firstly, there is no blame-laying and finger-pointing to ram opinions down your throat; the lyrics are of the straightforward kind (even the f-word pops up – gosh!) and devoid of metaphorical airs and graces that normally conceal or embellish things. Secondly, the album will function as a whole even if you want to blank out the storyline; the absence of leitmotifs grants that each song stands on its own...
www.lotfp.com/ReviewFrameshift.htm

...The challenge of most prog-metal is to avoid a simple barrage of sound and inject some melody. Well Frameshift’s An Absence of Empathy certainly has no shortage of the barrage of sound but thankfully there are many melodic moments as well. Songs such as “In an Empty Room” turn out to be standouts when juxtaposed among the louder compositions. I also particularly liked a couple of the tracks where Pauly uses a real dirty analog synth sound. Listen to the opening strains of track two “Just once More” to see what I mean. There are also some excellent orchestral moments such as the nine-minute track “Blade.” So while much of the album is heavier than what I normally listen to, there is much to appreciate here for a wide range of prog fans. Just wait for the right frame of mind and Frameshift will fill handily fill the bill. An Absence of Empathy is a worthy follow-up is so many ways.
www.progressiveears.com/asp/reviews.asp?albumID=3193

Spanish review
manticornio.com/rock-progresivo/F/FRAMESHIFT/absence-of-empathy.html

...Beginning this review with mentioning Sebastian Bach is not that fair to the main creator of this concept cd: Henning Pauly. He plays, with the exclusion of the drums, all instruments on this cd. Matt Cash and Adam Evers have written a major part of the lyrics and all three of them came up the melodies. But the presence of Bach gives this cd colossal extra class! James LaBrie (Dream Theater) was the vocalist on the previous cd of Frameshift, but because he could not find the time, Sebastian Bach was asked to do the singing. And to be honest: the raw, emotional voice of Sebastian Bach suits the principal theme of this cd perfectly. The subject of this cd is violence, human violence. "It is ever-present and, in varying degrees, ingrained in all of us. Violence is inherent to our nature, but the question is, what factors determine who lets is show through and how does it show itself?" says Pauly. 'An Absence of Empathy' takes you into the psyche of several different people who are either experiencing or acting out violence. Each form of violence is dealt with in two songs, each one shedding light on a different point view of the scenario. For example, one subject is about violence in schools: one song ('Miseducation') deals with a teacher using psychological violence towards his students, of which some of them then rebel, while 'Outcast' is about a school shooting...
www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=5651&lang=en

...The stand out track for me is "When I Look Into My Eyes". To me it has the most progressive feel out of the whole album. But to get the full concept, this is a album that should be listened to several times from start to finish before making any critisizms, good or bad. Fan's of prog metal, heavy metal and harder edged prog will rejoice with the latest Frameshift release. I can't wait for the next one!
www.geocities.com/prognaut/reviews/frameshift2.html

...The record really invokes the spirit of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (Dream Theater) and One (Neal Morse), with a little bit of Chroma Key/OSI experimentation present really putting diversity within the musical splendor and melodic insanity that really has Pauly and Bach (along with drummer Eddie Marvin) pushing the envelope for such notable ear candy. Henning Pauly is pure fucking genius, making Frameshift a force to be reckoned with.
www.revelationz.net/index.asp?ID=1525

...To Skid Row fans who are waiting to see if the original Skid Row line up will join the long line of recent years’ reunited Hard Rock bands –- or while others are just waiting for another Sebastian Bach solo album, An Absence Of Empathy is superb company to share the wait. However, it is not Sebastian Bach alone that should draw attention towards this album. The compositions would bear a lesser singer, and some of the tracks would even deserve some attention as instrumentals. The lyrics, however, carry a story concept about different individuals facing different kinds of violence. Violence -- an ever-present theme, it seems...
www.metalexpressradio.com/menu.php?main=reviews&id=1162

German Review
www.musicoutlook.de/index.php?id=56&backPID=56&tt_news=1755

German Review
www.metal-inside.de/frame.php?url=www.metal-inside.de/dyn/review.jsp?id=5546

German Review
www.heavyhardes.de/review-1526.html

German Review
metal.de/cdreviews.php4?was=review&id=5464

German Review
www.bloodchamber.de/cd/f/1881

Dutch review
www.progwereld.org/cd-recensies/frameshift2.htm

Shift your CD player over to Frameshift by An Absence of Emapthy. Jouney into the reasons for and the meaning or search for meaning in violence. An Absence of Emapthy will take you down a winding road as they ponder this and rock out while doing it. Hard core guitar and drum combos, special sound effects, and even a few notes from an organ help to classify Frameshift as an awesome album both in musical proportions, but also an album which will get the listener to look inward and journey down the dark rock road of good and evil.
thecelebritycafe.com/cd/full_review/11186.html

Italian review
www.metal-zone.it/recensioni/frameshift.htm

...On this song you can hear a lot of strange electric effects which you’ll hear on other songs as well, it just makes it all more exciting, together with the terrific guitarsound and the great synth solos. Sometimes the harmonies are a bit complex, but nowhere it goes over the top, just because it has the right dose of melody and on the right moment the exact tempo-changes. Lyrically this is sort of conceptalbum again, but now build around the nature of violence in humans. Folks that only like progmetal with clean vocals will be a bit disappointed I guess, but I can’t say anything else then that this is a decent album, suitable for every progfan, just try it out, give it a chance!
www.musketeerofdeath.nl/cdrframe.htm

...An Absence of Empathy is one of the most thrilling releases I have recently bumped into, and I truly hope Bach stays around for another release of this outfit as I cannot imagine any other vocalist blending better. Let everyone else be on the watch for a new Dream Theater, I’ll be on the watch for the new Frameshift! (and play this one constantly until it arrives) (9.5/10)
maelstrom.nu/ezine/review_iss39_2749.php