San
Fransisco is the home base of these band members.
They’ve been walking down the progressive road since 1995.
After the changeover to the Inside Out label and the release of
“Juggling 9 or dropping 10” the fans had to wait 2 years for its
successor, but everything goes to show that it was well worth waiting for. ‘Under
fire’ is not only the opening track, but also the feeling you get, listening
to it.
After the first measurements you’ll find out this album will keep you
in your comfy chair and the term “progressive” will be fully exploited.
A very good voice alternates with piercing guitar solos, driving and
pumping basses and a drummer who knows exactly what he’s doing.
These are the elements I noticed in the first song.
Don’t let the end surprise you, it’s totally unexpected. ‘Monday’
opens up with a nice drum-pattern, followed by a very strong melody,
beautifully sung by Ted Leonard.
In fact, this song is a succession of climaxes with fresh and accurate
drums, played by newcomer Sean Flanegan. The composition itself is not
obvious, but Sean brilliantly manages to work himself through it.
People who are crazy about Spocks Beard (in order to make some kind of
comparison) will notice, after the first 2 tracks, that this CD is a must. ‘Seeds
of hate’ opens threateningly but carries on with a divine drive.
A nice melody fuses with rhythm changes and a beautiful stirring
refrain.
For a moment, Ed Platt asserts himself.
With his bass, he clears the way to a tremendous passage with
alternating guitar and synthesisers.
Douglas Ott as well as Ed Platt played in the synth-parts.
It was a necessary choice, since Mike “Benignus” Geimer – who
contributed in a small way on “Juggling 9 or dropping 10” – left the
band.
Mark Blasquez helps out in live gigs, but the band is still auditioning
keyboard players.
So if you feel called upon to join ? ‘Flat
line’ is another good and strong track, very progressive rock.
You can hear beautiful harmonies in the refrain, very ‘easy
listening’.
A bit poppy sometimes but in the end …. I won’t give the show away. Time
to let the first ballad blow out of the speakers.
A nice synth loop to start ‘Follow the sun’ with.
And, you can take it from me, that’s the way a ballad should sound.
A stirring voice, the synth loops in the background, a beautiful
acoustic guitar and on top of that emphasising bass and drums.
And the cutting guitar solo: it makes your flesh crawl!! This track can
be played anywhere and even non-prog amateurs will like it. ‘Ultimate
gift’ is the longest track on this CD and it stays in the same atmosphere as
the former track.
This is also a very well built up track with fitting guitar-solo's and
it keeps that way, all 7’58” long. In
‘My everafter’ the band chooses resolutely for more spirit. From the
start, a counter-measurement is used in order to give the song an extra groove
and a different sphere. Alternating
distortion guitar, lovely plucking
guitars, at some point very bloated (gross) guitar- and synthesiser solo's,
repeated after a beautiful vocal bridge with the same bravado, and smoothly
fading out.
A magnificent track, pure class.
‘Invisible’
stays on the followed road of action, but after a minute or two, the
atmosphere changes into a song full of character and a fairy tale like bridge
where the electric guitar plays the leading part.
The end is nice and tight, the instruments complement each other to
finally reach a climax. ‘Despicable’
, only 4’13” long, is the shortest track and has a bizarre build up and a
curious ending.
And then there's ‘Prognosis’ ! Obviously, I 'm obliged to stand
still for a while because of the track-name, which is almost similar to our
prog-site.
I'm still hesitating to recommend it to the members of our board in
order to make it our favourite - our "recognition" track.
It's a bonus-track and it's definitely prog !
Every super-ingredient is there in order to make it at least my
favourite.
Driving basses, in combination with a solid drum-play, supporting
synthesiser parts and mighty sounding guitars.
It makes your flesh crawl again !!!
The track underlines the class of the musicians and their music.
However, don't forget to keep on listening, because after 7'10"
there is a gap filled with silence, 15 seconds long, followed by a drum-break.
Reviewed by: William 'Will' Beckers Translated by: Walter 'HaHa' Haentjens |
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