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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Oceans of Night

Mindstorm

Review by Gary Hill

I've been following and covering this band for a very long time. And, speaking of a long time, it's been ten years since their last album. Now they have delivered a new helping of Oceans of Night music that fits well into their catalog. I know some consider their music metal with prog in the mix, but I usually land them just on the other side of that equation, putting them under progressive rock. Your mileage may vary on that classification. If you've ever liked this act, you have a pretty good idea what to expect.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024  Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.

Track by Track Review
Servants of Shadow / New Dawn
Atmospheric textures get things underway here. An electronic keyboard jam emerges unaccompanied for a time. Then hard-edged music is added to the mix. That keyboard section remains, though and gets some more moments by itself. Some metallic rock rises upward after a time, and this really does do a great job of merging prog and metal vibes as it continues. This is an effective instrumental opener.
Before the Fall

Hard rocking, there is a definite prog metal vibe at play here. This is a driving rocker that works really well. It's heavy dark and creative.

Siren

Dark prog with metal vibes is on the menu as this gets underway. There are some cool twists and turns built into this. It also features some scorching hot guitar soloing.

Vast and Infinite

This driving hard rocker has some metal in the mix along with metallic prog. It has some killer guitar soloing, and this instrumental is one of my favorite things here. It's packed full of energy and magic. It's proggy, but also edgy and metallic.

Closer to the Edge

More of a driving hard rocker, this doesn't have as much prog built into it as some of the others do. It's also perhaps not as strong as the rest around it. That said, it has its charms. It also features some particularly meaty guitar soloing.

Obelisk

Now, this is more like it. It's got an insistent rhythm section and some powerhouse jamming. This has more prog in it, and really manages to shine brightly. This instrumental has some cool changes and differing modes. It's quite a cool ride.

Man Clothed in the Light of the Sun

This is packed full of drama and magic. This is an intriguing piece that really works well. It's nearly an instrumental, and it's all class. In fact, it's one of my favorites here.

Mindstorm

Fast-paced and hard rocking, this one features female vocals. This is definitely proggy in an arena rock way, but it also has plenty of metal vibes in play. It's one of the most furious things here in terms of energy and tempo. That makes it a great choice for title track.

No Turning Back

There is a mellower, keyboard-based introductory section to this. The track eventually works out to fierce, driving metallic sounds that work well. It has moodier, dramatic dropped down things, too. There is a drop back to another keyboard oriented movement after the halfway mark. At well over nine-minutes of music, this is the epic of the set, and it gets back into more rocking zones before it's over.

Mictlantecuhtli

This jam features some powerhouse guitar work. Then again, everyone puts in exceptional performances on this thing.

Distant

Melodic, but rocking sounds get things underway here. After that introduction works through, it gets into mellow, rather symphonic sounds for the entrance of the female vocals on the cut. That movement is quite pretty It turns more driving and hard rocking further down the road. This is some stellar jamming built into that harder edged section.

Event Horizon

The closer comes in via a keyboard sounding movement that grows gradually. It builds upward into a more rocking arrangement while still continuing the vibes. That eventually peaks and were brought back to more mellow keyboard zones. That mode ends this instrumental in style, really grounding the whole thing.

 
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