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Theocracy is a band I've long been aware of but have never listened to for a variety of reasons. With all the new music out there, there wasn't much time to go back and explore their back catalog, not to mention opinions were divided here at The Metal Crypt. It wasn't until their fifth album, Mosaic, showed up in my review queue that I finally have the opportunity to check them out. Anyway, Mosaic is a rather enjoyable, slightly proggy power metal album. It has some of the depth of emotion and cinematic songwriting of Dream Theater, but nowhere near the pomp or self-indulgence as well as the simpler, more direct hooks and accessible compositions of Threshold without the occasional down-tuned riffing and seven-string guitar work. It's a bit of a long album (66 minutes), which is typically a turn off for me, but other than a couple of songs over 6 minutes, most of that is due to the closer, "Red Sea," which clocks in at 19:07. Even this brute is varied and entertaining despite its length. But I prefer the more direct songs that focus on being catchy and filling your ears with hooks like "Flicker" or "Return to Dust." Mosaic isn't about reinventing the wheel, it's just an accomplished band doing what they do and hitting what they were aiming for pretty close to the bullseye. If you want the speed and gloss of power metal but with more depth than the typical adrenaline speed rush, Theocracy have got what you need.