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| Progressive Rock CD Reviews |
| Track by Track Review
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Out Of The Blue
Sound loops and atmospheric textures open this gently and rise up rather mysteriously. It turns hard rocking for just a quick section. Then some more melodic music emerges and the vocals come over the top rather like old school Genesis. The music remains quite mellow and atmospheric as this continues. The vocals just sort of emerge here and there. |
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Beyond the Horizon
Weird loops and effects open this and the cut grows out from there with a harder rocking sound emerging here and there. Again the vocals call to mind Gabriel era Genesis. This works through a number of changes and alterations. At times it resembles solo Gabriel music. It’s certainly not a straight line kind of progression, but it’s very cool with a lot of different vocal concepts (including chorale vocals) combining with different combinations of loops, guitar and other classic prog instrumentation and classical symphonic elements. |
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Docked at Bay
Atmospheric elements and a distant chanting spoken vocal are heard on this. It’s only a little over a minute long, so it never really goes anywhere from there and serves mostly as just an introduction to the next piece. |
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Archaeous of Water v 1 i. the ears of eras
This comes in from the last one, feeling a little like something from Jonathan Elias, but with Peter Gabriel providing vocals. Then some female vocals come across a gentle and intricate arrangement. It grows out from there in a pounding, and dramatic, but still fairly mellow arrangement. It builds towards more melodic prog as more vocals come over the top. It works out through several alterations and then turns towards something a bit like Vangelis, but still with some of that Jonathan Elias arrangement built into it. There are weirdly processed vocals at the end. |
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Archaeous of Water v 1 ii. anchors away
This is a lot more “song oriented.” It’s gentle and has a definite rhythm. Its arrangement is lush and it’s almost like new wave meets progressive rock. It turns more towards a mellow progressive rock sound as it continues. There are some processed bursts of sound and bits of percussion playing around in the background. Then it works to more delicate sounds and piano guides it out. |
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Archaeous of Water v 2 i. the light it moves, en vie est lumière
World music vocals are merged with processed and natural sounds for a track that’s again a bit like new age music, but with some Vangelis in the mix. It works towards more “song” oriented sounds at times. There are sampled sound loops and other elements later and a more rocking vocal part further down the road. |
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Archaeous of Water v 2 ii. echoes of eras
Coming in with a sound that feels very much like a continuation of the previous track, bouncing melody lines and electronic musical motifs along with processed vocals, chant and other elements create the motif here. |
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Iagla
This is much more song like, combining gentle melodic elements with a more standard rock vocal line, this is an intriguing tune. There are sound bites across the top and this certainly conveys more of both the Jonathan Elias element and Vangelis. Some parts of this rock out harder than just about anything here, and there are bits that also call to mind Pink Floyd a bit. |
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Waves of the Glacier / a view from a pier
The rather Native American sounding vocals, combined with a mellow instrumental pattern that opens this again calls to mind Mr. Elias. This builds out gradually with other instruments added to the mix. It’s not a huge stretch from the other material here, but has its own identity. A little before the two minute mark this becomes a more rocking motif that still conveys all the influences heard throughout this set. It drops back for some spoken sound bites. After a reprise of some of the earlier elements this slows way down for great dramatic effect. Gentle sounds eventually segue this into the next track. |
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The Mirror in the Window
Pretty keyboards open this and the track starts to grow out from there. Processed vocals come over the top of a pretty balladic melody later, Yet bursts of harder rocking music lend drama in their repeated entrance and exits. This is intricate and delicate, yet also has a lot of meat in it. It’s one of the most effective pieces here because it’s both accessible and more unique than some of the other stuff. There is an electronic symphonic air to a lot of this and it really is quite a dynamic and powerful number. There are hints of Celtic music to be heard here. |
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Tomorrow will tell the Story
The rhythm section really drives this one early on, but many of the same elements as on the rest of the disc are also present. A more driving rock sound takes over as the main vocal section is joined. There is a trippy section later that features a spoken rhyme and some cool piano. It works to more rocking sounds after that, but still quite melodic and mellow. It turns towards very atmospheric and mellow sounds later, but continues expanding and exploring. We get some of the heaviest music of the whole disc later, but it’s still in an atmospheric arrangement. Chants eventually take it out. |
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Aureole (bonus track)
The opening section here doesn’t vary a lot from the rest of the disc, but this turns towards one of the hardest rocking, and most “mainstream” tracks of the set. It really feels like something Peter Gabriel might do with some of those Elias overlayers. There’s some cool guitar work on this and it turns pretty heavy later. More of the sedate sounds that prevail on the disc eventually end this. |
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