The opening track, “Virtual Symmetry,” is exactly twenty minutes long. Not 19:59, not 20:01 - - 20:00. Did they plan that, or was it just fate? This song does have the feel of destiny about it. . . It’s an absolute Prog masterpiece, standing on the shoulders of genre definers like Spock’s Beard, Dream Theater, Symphony X.

The fugue of lead guitars and synths throughout is breathtaking. In true Prog epic fashion, the vocals don’t kick in until about the 4:45 mark.
It’s hard to top this kind of opening, and - - well, to be blunt - - Virtual Symmetry never do on this record. On my first listen, I’d thought that they’d spent all of their mana on the title and eponymous track, leaving nothing for the rest of the songs. I was relieved on followup listens to realize that this wasn’t the case. There’s a fair bit of bland and filler material, yes, and maybe a bit too much with the tender, keyboard ballad moments. . . but there are also solid sections to be found. “Come Alive” is the second-best song, especially with that Robbin Crosby-esque riff to kick things off. .
“Virtual Symmetry” (the album) is the rare case where there’s only one truly great song on the record (“Virtual Symmetry”, the song), but the rest is good enough - - and that one song is fantastic enough - - that it still gets my recommendation. It helps that the standout song comprises about 30% of the album’s total running time. With this release, Virtual Symmetry (the band) are poised to be a force in 21st century Prog Metal.