Progressive Rock Review: Imagery-The Inner Journey

Release Date: 19^thNov 2013

Label:  Cleopatra

Website 

Imagery, the Brazilian progressive band, was formed in 2008, but all members of the band have had experience within the Brazilian rock/metal scene for several years prior to coming together. The debut album, The Inner Journey, is a journey through the world of progressive metal/rock, played by extremely skilled musicians. The band list their influences as ranging from The Beatles through to Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Rush, ELP, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater and more.

Imagery is a four piece band currently comprising, Joceir Bertoni (vocals, guitars), Ricardo Fanucchi (bass), Henrique Loureiro (keyboards) and Bruno Pamplona (vocals, drums). Joceir and Ricardo have played together for ten years and they were then joined by Henrique and Luciano Neves (drums) to record the album. Since that recording, Bruno has replaced Luciano on the drum stool.

The Inner Journey is an 8 track album, with a total playing time of around 43 minutes. The shortest track on the album is “Show Me” with a running time of 3:37 minutes and the final track, aptly named “Last,” is the longest, at just over 8 minutes (8:12).

“Fourth Secret” (4:50) is a powerful heavy instrumental slab of progressive music, rich in melodies, and the band are quickly into their stride and the track fairly motors along. The amazing keyboard work, coupled with the guitar riffs and the very solid rhythm engine ensures that the listener is soon sucked into the music. Opportunities arise to allow the keyboards, guitar and the piano to take a shot at center stage, and almost before the listener has realized it, “Fourth Secret” has morphed into “Imagery,” the next track. “Imagery” (5:57) continues the heavy onslaught and I found it to be very reminiscent of Thin Lizzy in the early stages, but soon the track changes tack, and tempo, into a superbly structured melodic track. This slows down to walking pace, letting the superb piano and measured guitar melody dance across the rhythm and carry the track along. The vocals, which appeared at the start were initially of the “heavy rock” style, but are almost laid back when they reappear around the 5 minute mark.

“Perception” (6:13), harks back to the style of the opening track, with exquisite piano from time to time, “Start The War” (4:01), “The Rain” (5:46) and “Stranger” (4:43) continue the driving heavy style with more than a little swagger. A much lighter inclusion is that of track 6, “Show Me” (3:37) which is very gentle with acoustic guitars and a slower tempo, together with a vocal that is very easy on the ear, and immaculate drums and bass playing.

“Last” (8:12), is the album tour de force, and starts off with a memorable riff, terrific bass playing and those amazing organ passages and swirls. Clever time changes, excellent playing and a spoken vocal section, all add to the interest of the listener. The ending of the track “Last,” sees the band slowly fading out from around the 7 minute mark and that is it, all 43 minutes of an impressive debut album.

As a debut album, I find The Inner Journey to be very good, but my main concern, is that The Inner Journey doesn’t have that “je ne sais quoi” that makes it stand out from the pack. A fine introduction to the band, Imagery, with terrific snapshots of some majestic work, but lacking a little in the overall  “wow, that’s a cracker” stakes, although enough is shown to want to hear where the musical evolution between debut and follow-up, will take the band.

4/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Fourth Secret, Imagery, Last

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson

January 30, 2014

Review Provided By Write A Music Review

Tracks:

Fourth Secret

Imagery

Perception

Start The war

The Rain

Show Me

Stranger

Last

Progressive Rock Review: Freedom To Glide-Rain

I first came across the band Freedom To Glide early in 2012 when they issued the Rain EP, a 3 track release, which also served as a taster for the full Rain album which was being worked on. Later in the year, another taster appeared in the form of the 6 track mini album/EP entitled The Wait. A year after the release of this second taster, the full Rain concept album was released. The concept that runs through the album is that of the futility of war and the album paints an almost chilling aural landscape of the First World War (WW1).
 

Freedom To Glide is a band comprising two members, Pete Riley (keyboards, backing vocals, sound effects) and Andy Nixon (lead vocal, guitar, fretless bass, keyboards, drums and drum programming) and for this debut album, Rain, they are joined by Steve Bell (trumpet solo), Francesca Genco (additional vocals) and the Elation Community Voices Choir. Pete and Andy met while members of the Pink Floyd tribute band, Dark Side of the Wall, and started to put together music which would ultimately result in the Rainalbum, which was over 3 years in the making. 

Dealing with such a weighty concept has been very sympathetically carried out with the music throughout the album conjuring up the fears, anger, frustrations and human relationships that had to be dealt with. The lyrics are very powerful, for example on the opening track, “Rain,” “So my brothers fell like rain, every raindrop bears a name” and they continue to be as hard hitting throughout the album. Use is also made of some of the reminiscences of Pete’s grandfather, Corporal Robert Wilson, which made the production of this album a very personal journey.

Musically, the band certainly show a nod towards the sound of Pink Floyd, but there are also hints of Porcupine Tree, and the more Celtic sounds of bands like Clannad, but probably more similar to that of Iona. Similarities aside, the blending of these influences results in a sound which best described as the sound of Freedom to Glide.

Rain is a 15 track album which has a total playing time of around 63 minutes, with track 11, “Trying To Grow Young,” the shortest at under a minute, 0:34 seconds and the preceding track, “When The Whistle Blows,” the longest track at 8:21 minutes. With Rain being a concept album, it is difficult to highlight some tracks over others as they all contribute to the flow of the concept, but I will concentrate on three specific tracks. 

Opening tracks, I feel, are the most important on an album to grab the listener right from the start. “Rain (part 1)” (5:45) does this by creating a mood prior to the music fully appearing. There are little sound effects before a swathe of keyboards forms a backdrop to chatter and soldiers voices before a stunning lead guitar passage by Andy leads into crystal clear vocals with simple, hard hitting lyrics. Strumming guitar and a piano background then evolve back into that lead guitar passage. The chorus, part of which I quoted earlier paints the stark reality of what was happening. “Rain (part 1)” is a stunning opening track which then merges into the second track. 

The long track on the album, “When The Whistle Blows” (8:21) is a piano driven track at the start, with just the piano and that powerful clear voice, again delivering those “to the point” lyrics. Slowly the song picks up bass and drum, with an exquisite little bass run every so often, then back into the stark opening passage.  More of that superb lead guitar around the 3 minute mark carries the track on and into a narrative telling part of a story of Cpl. Wilson’s experiences. The haunting lines “You’ll only hear/see/read what we want you to hear/see/read” followed by “When The Whistle Blows” really strikes home although it is such a simple statement. The tempo changes around 5:30 minutes to a strumming acoustic guitar plus a little more narration and a different emphasis on the vocals, again backed with excellent piano runs in and out in the background. There is a drop to an eerie silence, punctuated by a soldier shouting, and then the strumming restarts. The track goes out with more “direct” lyrics interspersed with narration and it is gone, but leaves a lasting impression on the listener.

 

Now a bit of a cheat for my third track, because it is two tracks which merge and send shivers down this listener’s spine. “Trying To Grow Young” (0:34) and “Rain (part 4)” (3:01) create such a powerful soundscape by being so simple. “Trying To Grow Young” is a short comment powerfully sung over the choir in the background and leads into the recurring theme of “Rain,” this time part 4 of the title. The difference is in the percussion sound behind the vocals which becomes more marked as the rest of the instruments fade away and the male voice is replaced slowly by the Elation Community Voices Choir until they themselves simply fade away repeating the line, “So My Brothers Fell Like Rain.” This track is simply an amazingly powerful statement and for me, is the center point of this stunning album.
 

Three years in the making, Rain, is a superb album which has music which effortlessly flows throughout the 63 minutes, with swathes of keyboards, stunning lead guitar work, majestic piano passages, catchy acoustic guitar work and that crystal clear powerful voice. Above all, the concept dealing with the futility of war is dealt with sympathetically throughout and it must be one of the most emotionally tinged albums I have heard, and after letting the hour plus sink in, I hit play again. Go out and buy this album, (which gets both “One To Buy” and “The Experience will last Forever” stickers) settle down,  listen to it completely and marvel at what Freedom To Glide have produced.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Rain (part 1), When The Whistle Blows, Trying To Grow Young/Rain (part 4)

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson

January 25, 2014

Tracks:
Rain (part 1)
Anywhere Else But Here
Path Of Reason
Riders On A Wave
Price Of Freedom
LU2
Rain (part 2)
Angels and Stones
Wind and Gales – Rain ( part 3)
When The Whistle Blows
Trying To Grow Young
Rain (part 4)
Home Again
One Hundred and Twenty
Not a Broken Man

Progressive Rock Review: Freedom To Glide-Rain

I first came across the band Freedom To Glide early in 2012 when they issued the Rain EP, a 3 track release, which also served as a taster for the full Rain album which was being worked on. Later in the year, another taster appeared in the form of the 6 track mini album/EP entitled The Wait. A year after the release of this second taster, the full Rain concept album was released. The concept that runs through the album is that of the futility of war and the album paints an almost chilling aural landscape of the First World War (WW1).
 

Freedom To Glide is a band comprising two members, Pete Riley (keyboards, backing vocals, sound effects) and Andy Nixon (lead vocal, guitar, fretless bass, keyboards, drums and drum programming) and for this debut album, Rain, they are joined by Steve Bell (trumpet solo), Francesca Genco (additional vocals) and the Elation Community Voices Choir. Pete and Andy met while members of the Pink Floyd tribute band, Dark Side of the Wall, and started to put together music which would ultimately result in the Rainalbum, which was over 3 years in the making. 

Dealing with such a weighty concept has been very sympathetically carried out with the music throughout the album conjuring up the fears, anger, frustrations and human relationships that had to be dealt with. The lyrics are very powerful, for example on the opening track, “Rain,” “So my brothers fell like rain, every raindrop bears a name” and they continue to be as hard hitting throughout the album. Use is also made of some of the reminiscences of Pete’s grandfather, Corporal Robert Wilson, which made the production of this album a very personal journey.

Musically, the band certainly show a nod towards the sound of Pink Floyd, but there are also hints of Porcupine Tree, and the more Celtic sounds of bands like Clannad, but probably more similar to that of Iona. Similarities aside, the blending of these influences results in a sound which best described as the sound of Freedom to Glide.

Rain is a 15 track album which has a total playing time of around 63 minutes, with track 11, “Trying To Grow Young,” the shortest at under a minute, 0:34 seconds and the preceding track, “When The Whistle Blows,” the longest track at 8:21 minutes. With Rain being a concept album, it is difficult to highlight some tracks over others as they all contribute to the flow of the concept, but I will concentrate on three specific tracks. 

Opening tracks, I feel, are the most important on an album to grab the listener right from the start. “Rain (part 1)” (5:45) does this by creating a mood prior to the music fully appearing. There are little sound effects before a swathe of keyboards forms a backdrop to chatter and soldiers voices before a stunning lead guitar passage by Andy leads into crystal clear vocals with simple, hard hitting lyrics. Strumming guitar and a piano background then evolve back into that lead guitar passage. The chorus, part of which I quoted earlier paints the stark reality of what was happening. “Rain (part 1)” is a stunning opening track which then merges into the second track. 

The long track on the album, “When The Whistle Blows” (8:21) is a piano driven track at the start, with just the piano and that powerful clear voice, again delivering those “to the point” lyrics. Slowly the song picks up bass and drum, with an exquisite little bass run every so often, then back into the stark opening passage.  More of that superb lead guitar around the 3 minute mark carries the track on and into a narrative telling part of a story of Cpl. Wilson’s experiences. The haunting lines “You’ll only hear/see/read what we want you to hear/see/read” followed by “When The Whistle Blows” really strikes home although it is such a simple statement. The tempo changes around 5:30 minutes to a strumming acoustic guitar plus a little more narration and a different emphasis on the vocals, again backed with excellent piano runs in and out in the background. There is a drop to an eerie silence, punctuated by a soldier shouting, and then the strumming restarts. The track goes out with more “direct” lyrics interspersed with narration and it is gone, but leaves a lasting impression on the listener.

Now a bit of a cheat for my third track, because it is two tracks which merge and send shivers down this listener’s spine. “Trying To Grow Young” (0:34) and “Rain (part 4)” (3:01) create such a powerful soundscape by being so simple. “Trying To Grow Young” is a short comment powerfully sung over the choir in the background and leads into the recurring theme of “Rain,” this time part 4 of the title. The difference is in the percussion sound behind the vocals which becomes more marked as the rest of the instruments fade away and the male voice is replaced slowly by the Elation Community Voices Choir until they themselves simply fade away repeating the line, “So My Brothers Fell Like Rain.” This track is simply an amazingly powerful statement and for me, is the center point of this stunning album.

Three years in the making, Rain, is a superb album which has music which effortlessly flows throughout the 63 minutes, with swathes of keyboards, stunning lead guitar work, majestic piano passages, catchy acoustic guitar work and that crystal clear powerful voice. Above all, the concept dealing with the futility of war is dealt with sympathetically throughout and it must be one of the most emotionally tinged albums I have heard, and after letting the hour plus sink in, I hit play again. Go out and buy this album, (which gets both “One To Buy” and “The Experience will last Forever” stickers) settle down,  listen to it completely and marvel at what Freedom To Glide have produced.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Rain (part 1), When The Whistle Blows, Trying To Grow Young/Rain (part 4)

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson

January 25, 2014

Tracks:
Rain (part 1)
Anywhere Else But Here
Path Of Reason
Riders On A Wave
Price Of Freedom
LU2
Rain (part 2)
Angels and Stones
Wind and Gales – Rain ( part 3)
When The Whistle Blows
Trying To Grow Young
Rain (part 4)
Home Again
One Hundred and Twenty
Not a Broken Man

Progressive Rock Review: Cliffhanger-Cold Steel

Release Date: 2nd July 2013
Label:  Freia Music
Website 

This album, Cold Steel, by the Dutch progressive band, Cliffhanger, is a re-mastered and expanded release of the debut album that first saw the light of day in 1995. Cliffhanger formed back in 1993 when the four band members came together, ultimately releasing 4 albums, 3 of which were released by 1998, Cold Steel (1995), Not To Be or Not To Be (1996) and Mirror Site (1997). At this point, the band went their separate ways, but re-formed a year later and recorded album No 4, Circles (2000), before finally calling it a day.

Cliffhanger was a four piece band comprising, Dick Heijboer (piano, keyboards and synths), Gijs Koopman (bass, bass pedals and additional keyboards), Rinie Huigen (guitar, vocals) and Hans Boonk (drums, percussion) and in 2012, Freia Music and the band agreed to re-release the debut album, Cold Steel, with Dick sorting out the tracks plus bonus material, and all members being involved in the extensive liner notes.

The sound of Cliffhanger on this debut/re-mastered disc is lush symphonic music encompassing passing nods to a variety of prog giants such as Yes, Genesis, Marillion (Fish era), King Crimson and even some hints of Van Der Graaf Generator.

Cold Steel is a 2 CD set, with disc 1 having 9 tracks and a playing time of around 68 minutes and disc 2, comprising 11 tracks with a running time of around 71 minutes. The shortest track on offer is on disc 2, “Oh Cloudy Cloudy Sky,” at a short 1:19 minutes and disc 1 contains the longest track, “Bad Dream (Cruel Vision), runs the clock on past 18 minutes. (18:22).

The first seven tracks on disc 1 form the original Cold Steel album release with both “Feels Like Flying” and ”Sinister Memories” being bonus additions, along with the material on disc 2.The opening track, “Views” (7:14) is stunning and shows exactly what Cliffhanger were capable of producing. There are examples of great time changes, sweeping keyboards, beautiful guitar melodies and the appealing, if slightly faltering, vocals. The vast range of melodies on show, together with the soaring and sweeping passages provided by the keyboards permeate through all the tracks and exudes a feeling of safety and security to prog followers. “Views” is a terrific example of what an opening track should be, grabbing the listener instantly and refusing to let go.

“Kill Your Darlings” (5:49), “Four Vessels” (7:33) and “6 Minutes Closer To Death” (5:52) all have that superb symphonic sound which can suddenly drop into a darker area, but seamlessly flows along carrying the listener with them.

The 8+ minutes of “Colossus” (8:10), is another superb track, starting in a very subdued manner which has a sort of narrated lyric at times. This is almost “stripped down” Cliffhanger with the vocals carrying the main spotlight. Around a third of the way into the track, those majestic, amazing keyboards have a passage which takes the breath away, before giving way to a simple piano behind the vocal. The keyboards are very prominent in phases and the track is memorable with several of the little keyboard flourishes. The ending sees the symphonic sound fading away in a slow spiraling outro.

The bonus tracks are a mixture of material that were recorded around the same time as Cold Steel was issued, with different versions of tracks on disc 1  and live tracks, culled , I would assume, from the concerts that Cliffhanger were doing at that time. The good thing about this selection of bonus items  is that they are worth possessing, which is something, unfortunately, that cannot be said for all “bonus items” that can appear on re-issues.

The closing track on disc 2, “Hopeless” (15:32),is another of the tracks where the overall sound is more subdued with the vocals almost being the main “instrument” on show for a large chunk of the tracks running time. There is some stunning piano work throughout the track and around the 7th minute, the synths “escape” and move the track up several notches. The guitar sets out some melodic passages and runs as the track progresses. The crowd is very appreciative and can be heard in the quiet phases, on what is a very well structured track allowing a full band workout, and considering that it is a live track, the sound is excellent.

The debut album by Cliffhanger, Cold Steel, is worth the purchase price for the original 7 track album from 1995, but in this instance, you also get another 80+ minutes of material that is worth having, with no poor quality sound or “early demo” written across the tracks. Pure symphonic rock from a band that certainly seems to have been overlooked, so this time, do yourself a huge favor and go out and get Cold Steel. It has a “One to Buy” sticker on it and I don’t think you will be disappointed in any way.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Views, Colossus (disc 1), Hopeless

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson

January 22, 2014

Tracks:
Disc 1:
Views
Kill Your Darlings
Four Vessels
Six Minutes Closer To Death
Colossus
Remaining Rancour
Bad Dreams (Cruel Visions)
Feels Like Flying
Sinister Melodies

Disc 2:
Oh Cloudy Cloudy Sky
Here Comes The Utopian
Truce
Kill Your Darlings
Good Things (last forever)
Escape
Hope and Despair
Colossus
Rainforest
Four Vessels
Hopeless

Progressive Rock Review: Sylvium-The Gift Of Anxiety

Release Date: 13th Sept 2013 
Label: Freia Music
Website

I was well ahead of the game with this particular album for review, as I have been featuring the band, Sylvium, on the radio show since the album, The Gift of Anxiety, was released last September.

Sylvium was formed back in 2010 by Ben van Gastel (guitar, keyboards), and his intention was to make use of guest musicians when he was recording. The first album, Purified, was produced and released in 2012 with Fred Boks contributing to the album. Purified was an instrumental album and was very well received, and on the basis of that success, they were invited to record a 10 minute track for the Dutch Exposure album, which was to highlight Dutch bands. Ben produced a track collaborating with Janroel Koppen (piano) and although they were chosen as one of the finalists, Sylvium was not ready to perform live, and consequently withdrew from the competition.

Spring 2013 saw Sylvium become a live band with Ben and Janroel being joined by Gijs Koopman (bass) and Greg Geurtson (drums), and also the recording, and subsequent release, of The Gift of Anxiety. The album is based around a theme, that of anxiety, and includes vocals for the first time. Two guests during the recording of The Gift of Anxiety, Richard de Geest (vocals, guitar) and Antal Nesseldor (keyboards) have now joined Sylvium on a permanent basis; meanwhile recently, Janroel Koppen has left the line-up.

The Gift of Anxiety is a 6 track album with a total playing time of around 41 minutes. The shortest and longest tracks on the album are the two last tracks, with track 5, “Heaven,” the shortest at 6:29 minutes and the final track, “Weathering,” clocking in at 7:53 minutes.

“Disposable” (6:31) which blasts the album The Gift of Anxiety off, has a full band introduction which immediately grabs the listener and then a simply majestic piano passage floats across the track and then returns again slightly later, ensuring that the attention is kept firmly on the music. There enters some gentle synth sweeps away in the background which catch the ear and at around the halfway point, the sound drops away to leave a simple synth and bass passage which is excellent. Small tinkling bells herald the return of the guitar and more prominent synths as the band members flex their musical muscles to build the track back up. Superb bass and drumming throughout this track drive the opener along and it serves as a fine starter for the tracks that follow.

“Disposable” is an instrumental as are, “Falling” (6:33), “Ominous” (7:09) and “Heaven” (6:29). The one thing that they all have in common is the amazing aural soundscapes that they conjure up. The music moves from the full band workout to much gentler, softer passages within the tracks and this ensures that, at no time, do they lose the interest of the listener.

The two remaining tracks, “Surround” (6:57) and “Weathering” (7:53) debut the first vocals on Sylvium songs, and in both cases, the voice of Richard de Geest fits into the music superbly. “Surround” starts in a more stripped down way, which did remind me of the older Scottish band, The Blue Nile, with the strong powerful voice delivering the lyrics over a relatively sparse backing. The track soon builds in intensity, but that voice remains the center point.  Great guitar riffs, keyboard flourishes and the continued excellence of the rhythm unit ensures a memorable track. The final track, “Weathering,” has a very gentle introduction with nice drumming, bass and another of those simple piano melodies. The voice is slightly more insistent on this track as it gently pulls you into the music. This is possibly the most memorable track on the first few listens and will certainly embed itself in your mind. The second part of the track allows the musicians to highlight their skills, before a more ethereal sound takes over to take the track out.

The Gift of Anxiety is a simply stunning album that immediately grabs your attention, and for the 41 minutes of its duration, carries you along on a wave of aural soundscapes before gently allowing you to settle back into the here and now. After a moment, you realize the next thing to do is to start the album over again. Both “One to Buy” and “The Experience will last Forever” sticker adorn the front of this release and it is an album that should fill a little space on everyone’s CD shelf.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Surround, Heaven, Weathering

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson

January 16, 2014

Tracks:
Disposable
Surround
Falling
Ominous
Heaven
Weathering