I think I first read about Linear Sphere sometime shortly before the release of their first album, Reality Dysfunction, in 2004 or 2005. Somehow, I came across their name online as an up-and-coming technical/progressive metal band on which to keep an eye. It may have been on an online forum for some other band where fans like me got together to lament the slow delivery cycle of said band and speculate as to why they weren't catering to our every whim, who might serve as an acceptable substitute for listening while we wait, and what they might like to eat for breakfast (fans are nuts). Anyway, I managed to find at that time an exclusive release for the Dream Theater fan club from 2003 that was a collection of songs written and recorded to spec as part of a composers' competition. The guidelines were based on a song that Dream Theater was in the process of recording at the time, called "Stream of Consciousness", but revealed in the competition only as "SoC". Interestingly, a little known band named Redemption appeared on the CD of finalists, as did an even lesser-known band from London, Linear Sphere.
The name of the Linear Sphere track was "Scent of Carbonite" (SoC), and it blew me away. It was technical progressive metal with a heavier jazz influence than other prog metal bands, and some terrific guitar playing by shredders Martin Goulding and Charlie Griffiths. It's well worth checking out.
I'm not including that one below, mostly because the production, understandably, is pretty bad. Instead, check out the opening track, Origin, from their second and most recent release, Manvantara. Try to get past the obnoxious vocals... not easy to do, but if you can you'll be treated to some really unique and well-played technical prog fusion metal (they're in a genre all their own).
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