Reissue of the original '99 Ian Parry (ex-ELEGY) star-studded Progressive solo project, now re-christened "Criminals & Kings" and augmented by a pair of alternate versions: "A Miracle Is All We Need", with Patrick Rondat on guitar and "Evilworld", featuring Arjen Luccasen on bass.  When originally released through InsideOut via Century Media, as IAN PARRY's CONSORTIUM PROJECT, the man himself informed me it was NOT a concept album, yet now it's included in the five part tale of an alien race where women rule and no longer have a need for males in order to propagate. Given its timeframe and personnel, this comes close to being a missing, albeit more progressive, ELEGY disc, considering the drummer and guitarist Rondatwere also part of FORBIDDEN FRUIT. Add KAMELOT's Youngblood (just beginning to make an impact on the international scene), who appears on "Change Breeds Contempt" and this is a potent line-up, by any account.

Tough to remember back to the turn of the millennium, but fanciful Progressive / Gothic Metal was in its infancy, so Parry was really barking up the wrong tree (forward seeing visionary?), at least in terms of the industry as a whole. My, how times have changed! "House Of Cards" opener kicks things off with a gallop, the British expatriate's smooth vocals riding atop the guitar driven number. Keyboards are heavily employed throughout the disc (at times even sounding like a Hammond organ!), but never at the expense of the six-string (well, there a trio of guitarists at the ready, although they never play all together). Alongside the JOURNEY sounding "Chain OF Fear", the original album version of "A Miracle Is All We Need" is the only other ballad. Beginning with a lone piano, acoustic guitar and a slew of backing voices are added to Parry, come the chorus. "The Entity" is an instrumental, something of a novelty for a singer's solo project! The title track is the most 80s American sounding of the cuts, while "Pandora's Box" gets things moving again.

A remarkable cohesive album, considering it was recorded and mixed at several global locations.