This is the debut album from Orphan Project, an undertaking spear-headed by vocalist and lyricist Shane Lankford. Described as a "concept album [about] physical and spiritual adoption", Lankford uses these 60 minutes of melodic hard rock to tell us a bit of his own orphan-turned-adoptee story. In addition to providing insight to the experience of being an orphan and becoming adopted, the album's concept also tells of a spiritual awakening that brings God into his life.

On the album, Shane is heavily assisted by John Wenger (music, writing, additional vocals, keyboards, guitars) and the ensemble is completed by Scott Spivey (guitars, vocals), Tony Correlli (keyboards), Colin McGough (bass, vocals), and Tim Kehring (drums). The band hails from Maryland, USA.

Overall, my opinion of the album is very, very high. I want to start by saying that, for some reason, this album reminded me of Nightingale (or at least the Alive Again album). I haven't figured out yet if I'm off my rocker in this assessment or if perhaps this was just an initial impression that has stuck with me. While the album shows definite signs of Kansas, Dream Theater, and modern rock influences, there's just something in much of the music's lushy nature, deep vocals, and hook-heavy choruses that touched me the same way as that aforementioned Nightingale album.

This might be especially apparent on the album's emphatic opening track, "Coming Into View I: Discovering New Surroundings". Heavy chords and a thick, almost gothic-like guitar lead get things going before some Alice in Chains-style Seattle wah-wah take over. The frenzy slows considerably for the verse, which fits the mood of the lyrics well before eventually exploding into a very upbeat and gripping chorus. To my untrained music ears, it sounds like maybe a transition from minor to major key ... with the chorus coming across as acceptably mainstream. Great song. Lyrically, the message is a little indefinite to me; it might literally be about birth, though it also feels a bit like a larger synopsis for the entire album. This is followed by "Chosen", a slower, more ballad-like track. The verses and instrumental breaks feature a lot of acoustic guitar and bluesy electric guitar work -- think latter day Tesla. The chorus spanks of pop radio, but with a healthy dose of Kansas-like violin work underpinning the whole thing. Definitely a beautiful combination, another very good song. Lyrics here detail what it's like to watch other orphans being picked for adoption, and then what it's like to be picked yourself.

"Full But Lonely" restores a metal image to the album, although overall it's a bit of a let down from the previous two songs. Not terrible at all, but lacks the intoxicating finesse of its predecessors; being a bit monotone and repetitive, instead. Then again, on a worse album this might stand out as a pretty good track. In any event, redemption is swift on "Leaving My Seat At the Table", possibly the most powerful track on the album. Lyrically, these two songs use the imagery of physical sustenance to symbolize the main character's emotional clash from feeling empty despite having everything provided for him. I especially enjoyed how these lyrics could be seen as metaphorical and applicable in a more general sense. (One complaint with the album's concept is that it’s too specific to hit home often.) The song itself has a thick, lush melody that also continues the theme of fusing modern rock into the mix. The strong chorus is the type that guys like me live for. This is one of the longer songs on the album (at just over six minutes), which makes room for some beautiful violin passages.

The fifth track, "Trickle Down" starts heavy and punchy before things open up a bit to make way for vocals. Sadly, the music’s momentum never seems to fully regain, and in the end, the song winds up as mostly forgettable. Not a song that deems skipping, but just not one that makes much of an impression. The message of the song introduces religious elements to the story. Advancing this spiritual theme, "Coming Into View II: Encircling Arms of the Father" follows and, for a moment, really threatens to push the album full-bore into the Christian-rock category. I like the song -- it's catchy and enjoyable -- but even as a Christian myself, I just cringe a bit at the refrain's borderline contemporary Christian "revival" feel. To each their own, but the sound and message just sort of hint at that "fanboy of God" thing that rubs me the wrong way. That said, I could see others really adoring the song. Moving on, "See What He Sees" is a piano/violin ballad that, as you might guess, bears more than a little resemblance to Kansas. A good song with less of the complacent, pastoral Kansas feel than you might expect, offering a fair amount of drive despite its almost complete lack of percussion. The meaning behind the song shows further strengthening of the main character's faith, and does so in a pretty subtle fashion.

The title track, "Orphan Found", takes things up a couple notches. An all-around excellent song, this was one of the first songs to really catch my attention. It's one of the most prog-metal sounding tracks on the cd, offering a nice mix of crunchy guitars, complementary keys, strong vocals, string work, and somewhat ambitious composition. The song continues to advance the "finding fulfillment through God" theme, which pretty much seems to be the lyrical basis (done very quietly) for the balance of the album from here on out. Things cool off a bit on "Parts As One", a light rocker that made think a little of Sister Hazel. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the song didn't really do it for me. Compared to previous tracks on the album, this one stands out as less interesting: inferior chorus, pedestrian verse, and an instrumental break in which nothing happens. Probably my least favorite track on Orphan Found. "Paupers Unfulfilled" continues in sort of a similar alt rock style (a little more ballad-y), although the results are greater. Captivating song with plenty of grace and polish.

The album concludes with "Coming Into View III: Gazing Down on Golden Streets" and a short outro that follows. Together, the two provide fitting, dramatic closure. The seven-minute "Golden Streets" solidly represents the musical styles heard throughout the album, almost feeling like a recap ... or like we as the listener are reminiscing. Simply beautiful rock music with patient verses and a powerful chorus. In regards to the album's outro (titled "Wondrous Love"), I only wish it were longer. I'm not usually a fan of endings that are prolonged with fadeouts, but the epic and cinematic grandeur of this particular track just deserves to last longer than one minute.

As for criticisms, I’ve already mentioned that this might be a tough album to relate to, lyrically, but I’ll also add that the music here might actually be a little too accessible. Especially for some prog fans out there. In my book, catchy choruses and hooks are never a bad thing, but they are definitely more rewarding when it seems the artist really had to work at getting such a result from otherwise complex compositions. You don't really get that on Orphan Found -- at times, it left me desiring more layers to peel off and explore.

I also felt that this disc could have taken a few more chances emotionally. While the subject matter is made personal, it really seems like there should have been some opportunity on this album for deep-down, soul-wrenching emotion. As a listener, you really never "feel" anything tangible, with maybe the one exception of the song "Chosen". In some ways, I feel like they were playing it safe on this release when really there was a little more there below the surface.

Nevertheless, don’t let these criticisms dissuade you, this is a very good album.

Overall, I don't really know how to properly classify Orphan Found. It's not exactly "feature-rich" enough for me to blindly slap the "prog" tag on it. Not even neo-prog. Then again, despite its catchy-yet-artistic rock nature, you can't really categorize this as arena-ready AOR, either. Furthermore, a simple "hard rock" label is a gross injustice.

For a general idea, combine the sensibilities of Kansas with the occasionally thick rush of prog metal, offset with equally occasional glimpses of modern flair a'la Sister Hazel / Better than Ezra / Caroline's Spine / Live / Barenaked Ladies. Imagine this as the rough image, and focus in on the fact that the songs are capable of sticking with you for a lifetime.

In the end, the lack of easy classification is probably a good thing. I'll let you buy this cd and be your own judge

-Matthew A Rink (progpages.com senior reviewer)

Rating: B+ / 8.9