Beekstraat 1 - B-2640 Mortsel - Belgium

PARALLEL MIND: Colossus Adea

Release

Style

American-born William Kopecky is without any doubt one of the most talented bassists living on the planet. No wonder he has a busy schedule; remember the symphonic Pär Lindh Project and the avant-prog of Far Corner. Being member of the spectacular power trio Parallel Mind he is able to display his tremendous potential on the 6-string bass. Besides, Kopecky isn’t the typical freaking musician who wants to show off. His enormous stylistic versatility is never at the expense of the ensemble playing. Happily so, since the other two musicians are also highly skilled. Joe Babiak is a new drumming prodigy in the sumptuous art-rock vein of Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy and Carl Palmer. He can totally freak out on cymbals, toms or double bass-drum, and still keep everything impressively under control. The same counts here as for Kopecky: a captivating virtuosity that is never too egocentric. Even more, Babiak is also a very gifted brass player; trumpet and flugelhorn never sound miscast but add dynamic accents to the music. And then there is keyboard wizard Nibandh Nadkarni, frequently pulling Emerson-like loops from his organ and spinning sensitive melodic lines in the Jordan Rudess vein. The guest musicians (guitar, mandolin, violin, cello) further enrich the overall sound. Never redundant, always surprising.

The record immediately takes off highly with “Chromatic”, an epic its name worth because of the various instrumental colours and climate changes. The inversed rhythm patterns by bass and drums are a feast for the ears. “Opposite of Know” begins with a classical touch (piano and cello), then takes a fusion turn and heads for the purely progressive, dazzling highway. In the title song, divided into tracks three to six, all registers are opened in order to erect a colossal wall of sound to which every musician contributes in an equal manner. The result is a well-balanced “underwater suite” propelled by the force of musical suggestion. It seems like a film is played before your eyes. “Casa de Jig” is of course a joyful opus with a ‘dansant’ character, as you will recognize a salsa moment and a tempting jig. Menacing bass tones are dominant in the beginning of “Beginning’s End”. There’s a nicely bombastic first part that seems to fit a dark SF action film with laser swords in which the good guys must have won – considering the elegiac character of the second part.          

On the threshold of the new year Parallel Mind is storming into my top ten of 2005. Undoubtedly they are one of last year’s revelations. “Colossus Adea” is an excellent style exercise that once more proves that progressive music has the power to express a wide variety of emotions without lyrics and vocals.
 

Musicians

1. Chromatic (14:18)
2. Opposite of Know (8:13)
3. The Guardian (4:33)
4. Into the Depths (4:59)
5. Underwater Cities (4:52)
6. Resurface Earth (4:03)
7. Casa de Jig (7:43)
8. Beginning's End (12:45)

Colossus Adea (2005)

Website in order to promote progressive rock to a broader audience in Flanders but also in the entire world. No part from this website may be used in any other publication whether in print or on the world wide web without the editor's consent - all material is exclusive to Prog-Nose and copyright protected.

Last updated: 12 januari 2006 .
All rights reserved. Copyright © Prog-Nose 30/05/2001.