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| Progressive Rock CD Reviews |
| Track by Track Review
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Tempus Horribilis
A brief sound of a ticking clock is appropriately heard as this starts. That gives way to some trippy ambient things before a rubbery bass groove takes over, and they start building outward. This is driving and also trippy. I can make out hints of things ranging from Frank Zappa to Dream Theater and more. This is just such a cool track. It has some interesting twists and turns and it grooves like crazy. Some chorale breaks are among the unusual twists. Mid-track it drops to an ambient arrangement with a lot of bass at its heart. As the vocals come in, they bring a spacey fusion vibe with them. The piece begins to grow outward with more typical prog sound at the hears of the music. The multi-voice vocal arrangement on this track is so strong. The whole thing grows gradually outward again with plenty of killer modern prog sound at its heart. |
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Third Rail
I love the melodic, but hard rocking, progressive rock jamming that gets this going. There are some killer bass lines in the mix. The whole tune just oozes class and style, though. There is some really inspired and powerful guitar soloing built into parts of this track. The song is a fine example of classic prog sensibilities with a modern angle. |
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Say Their Name
Balladic modes bring this in with plenty of pure progressive rock at its heart. It grows gradually, but music of this is definitely more restrained than anything to this point. I'm reminded to a good degree of modern Yes on this song. It does get more powered up and energized further, but still remains more melodic until a cool driving jam around the half-way. That gives way to a percussive showcase before they fire out into an instrumental movement with some powerhouse guitar. Then the drums take over again. It comes back out into soaring prog from there before crescendoing to drop back down to mellower zones to continue. |
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All
The cool rhythm section groove that gets underway here is so tasty. The track builds on that with more of a fusion meets prog vibe. It grows and evolves in classy ways as it continues. This evolves working through a number of modes and movements. It's a powerful prog epic. A keyboard and bass movement mid-track is so tasty. That gives way to a powerhouse jam with some killer bass work. It continues to grow with some smoking hot prog music built into it. |
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Temporal Thing
Intricate acoustic guitar is on the menu as this gets going. It holds it for a time, and then piano takes over before they start to work together. It eventually works out more of a melodic prog jam with some killer bass work. The track doesn't stay in one place too long, though, getting much jazzier after a while. This is quite a dynamic and powerful piece of progressive rock. |
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You
I really dig the edgy, driving sound of this track. The vocals come in with a trippy, whispered quality. More standard vocals come after that, taking it into the song proper. The bass work is so rubbery and classy. The track has an almost metal edge to it in some ways, but it's a moody metal vibe. There are also plenty of space rock tendencies here. While this gets pretty metallic at times, it's still all prog. It's also powerful. |
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Blindside
Coming in mellower and balladic, this builds out gradually from there. This is definitely a power ballad. This works in some soulful directions, largely from the backing vocals, later. It does get pretty intense. I have to say, though, that this is the one track that really doesn't grab me. I'm not sure I'd consider it a "skip," but it's close. |
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Transmission Error
At about nine-and-a-half minutes long, this is the epic of the set. Intense, metallic guitar gets this underway. As the other instruments join, it definitely makes me think of Dream Theater. It peaks, and then they drop it down a little for the first vocals. Some smoking hot guitar soloing takes over after that first vocal section. Then it drops to a keyboard interlude, and then next vocals come in over the top of that. It eventually builds back out to more driving rock. There is a killer instrumental break further down the road that has a lot of intriguing instrumental interplay and gets quite heavy. Some powerhouse Keith Emerson-like piano takes over after that section finishes. Beyond that, some metallic guitar rises up, and we're taken out into a killer jam that has plenty of heavy metal built into it. Some funky bass work takes over after that, but then they take it back out into that jam with keyboards really jamming like crazy over the top. They continue to explore with both guitar and keys going nuts over the top. The track keeps evolving and building as they play like crazy. It turns a corner into a melodic prog jam from there. It really makes for a satisfying resolution as it leads into the next vocal movement. Parts of this whole track definitely make me think of Dream Theater. Other parts are closer to Yes. That's particularly true of the closing movement. The finish it up with some spacey trippiness.
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