Looking for something original yet accessible, diverse and at the same time harmonius? Look no further, Man on Fire's third album "Habitat" is ready to deliver the goods. This time MoF has come up with a concept album that details a variety of different lives within a single urban city block. Basically each track portrays one or more of the individuals living within this block. Therefore the material remains rather varying (the tracks portray different kinds of lives). Nonetheless, the tracks are knitted together surprisingly well, and thus "Habitat" remains as a cohesive listening experience.

As with the previous MoF album, David Ragsdale (Kansas, Smashing Pumpkins, Salem Hill) has contributed some exceptional violin parts to this album. Another special guest on this album is Adrian Belew, whose guitar virtuosity fits to the soundscape of Man on Fire seamlessly. In case you have listened to Man on Fire's previous releases, you already know that the music is really unique... there aren't any obvious influences. The material on "Habitat" is best described as melodic and atmospheric rock coupled with adventurous and refreshing approach to songwriting along with a good use of dynamics.

Since Jeff Hodges is known as a professional studio producer, he naturally handled the production and mixing of this album. The mastering, on the other hand, was left for Brad Blackwood (Evanescence) to handle. The result is rather good sounding album with a rich ambience. Nevertheless, regarding some aspects the sounds still could be further improved.

This is a really intriguing album, which should appeal to every open-minded listener who appreciates originality. I definitely recommend checking out "Habitat", and therefore advice you to browse to Mindawn.com where you can listen to this album yourself... the first listen should already be enough to convince you to buy the album, but in case it isn't, be sure to use all the three times you can freely listen to it. Here's a direct link to the "Habitat" page on Mindawn


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- MAGE (June 6th, 2005)

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LINE-UP:
Hodges, Jeff: Vocals, Keyboards, Loops & Samples Sands, Eric: Fretted Bass, Fretless Bass, 7 String Guitars Sindon, Rob: Drums & Percussion Carroll, Steve: Lyrics Special Guests: Belew, Adrian: Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Effects Ragsdale, David: Violin Additional Musicians: Shelly, Brent: Acoustic Guitar on Tracks 3, 9, 10 and 12 Meeder, Richard: Bass in Instrumental Break on Track 4
Producer:	Hodges, Jeff
Mixing by:	Hodges, Jeff
Mastering by:	Blackwood, Brad

	TRACKLIST:
	01. The Block 02. Mr. Lie 03. Majestic 04. Beast Inside 05. Street Game 06. What the Canvas Hides 07. Might Is Right 08. Curtain Call 09. Shelter 10. Love Never Lost 11. Broken 12. Habitat Length: 68:34