For some people progressive rock certainly needs to have keyboards because otherwise it’s not regarded as being prog. But just who defines what the ingredients for ‘true’ prog should be ? Regardless of any line-up the music can be whatever genre you can think of so why can’t there be prog without any keyboards ? So please welcome the American trio EGH who just focusses on the guitar/bass/drums setup in order to deliver seven mindblowing instrumental pieces strongly rooted in the domain of fusion with some blues elements added as a bonus. There’s hints of Cream, of Budgie even but above all the guitar introduces a marriage between Steve Vai and Robin Trower and what a marriage this is. Bring on the cake guys !

Each of the three players are musicians with an incredible technical baggage. Drummer Charlie Waymire is wellknown for his double bass technique and works with Jeff Kollman and Mike Hartman amongst others. Charlie did some live gigs with the band Cosmosquad which is yet another astonishing combination based around Jeff Kollman, Shane Gaalaas and Barry Sparks. Albie Dunbar on bass collaborates with Jimmy Crespo and TJ Helmrich whilst guitarist Ernesto Homeyer also lends his talents to the likes of Brett Garsed and Jacob Arman. Each and every track on this lengthy EP is a feast for lovers of fusion heavilly based on guitar with jazz and blues elements blending nicely together. The result of their music strangely enough will please a mirriad of musiclovers as there’s something for the blues fan, the guitar freak, the fusion diehard, those who are into technical hardcore, and lovers of good old authentic rock. Just listen to the power of ‘69+ten’ or the catchy groove of ‘So F*%#ing wrong’ and you know what I mean. EGH makes it possible for every instrument to shine on it’s own whilst still being part of the whole composition. That’s why you will not only hear guitarsolo’s but also great basslines and multiple drumbreaks and rhythm changes which all come together creating astonishing stuff. The speed of Ernesto during ‘Tropically trippin’ is mindblowing sometimes getting close to the ‘Flight of the bumble bee’ atmosphere.

Throughout this release I can’t help think about the Dutch trio Whistler Courbois Whistler who delivered a similar kind of music some years ago. Formed out of session musicians they also blended all of their technical skills into their very own music. ‘High strung’ is exactly that starting of with almost a reggae kind of rhythm but then evolving into some hard riffing with tons of breaks and fills. It almost sounds like a demonstration record for upcoming musicians. What is remarkable however is the fact that, although the music remains rather technical, the main ingredients remain melodic. Based on a laidback bass, in ‘Abrasive’ the guitar is given every possibility to explore his diverse sounds, techniques and approaches. On top of a repetitive guitar riff, Charlie Waymire gets the oppportunity to fully demonstrate his double bass routine next to every single drumbeat he has learned over the years. The band has recently acquired an extra guitarist in the person of Antti Kotikoski which will undoubtedly result in musical fireworks. There are talks of a European tour so if this happens and you’re in the neighbourhood you know what to do. Certainly a band to be reckoned with !

Reviewed by : John ‘Bo Bo’ Bollenberg

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Last updated: 25 oktober 2002 .
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