Prog4you.com - Progressive Rock Review

When looking up the definition of prog rock supergroup you might see the words “Amaran’s Plight” for if there were such a thing you have definitely found it. Amaran’s Plight consists of D.C. Cooper (Silent Force, Royal Hunt), Nick D’Virgilio (Genesis, Spock’s Beard), Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery) and Kurt Barabas (Under The Sun). That is quite a line-up so you can imagine the expectations were quite high within the prog community to come up with something special and I am happy to report they passed the test with flying colors. This is a fantastic slice of progressive metal with a small helping of AOR mixed in for good measure. I believe that makes this all the more palatable, at least for my taste. As you can probably guess, the musicianship is second to none and that comes as no surprise when we are presented with the resumes of these musicians. To my discerning ear there are really no weak points, from the strong vocals of D.C. Cooper to the guitar and keys provided by Gary Wehrkamp. Of course we cannot forget about Nick D’Virgilio on drums who puts his signature rhythms all over this disc and Kurt Barabas who provides a steady backdrop of bass and even comes to the forefront with the odd run that really shows off his exceptional talents.

I have been listening to this cd for a while now and I find it more addictive each time. If you are wondering what the music sounds like, I would have to say Shadow Gallery is the closest band I could come up with. This should come as no surprise as Wehrkamp produced much of the song-writing. The story (based on the novel by John Crawford) involves a man’s journey through life following a near death experience. The concept is an intriguing one and holds the listeners attention. The cd starts with the short instrumental “Room 316” which showcases Wehrkamp's pyrotechnics on guitar and leads directly into the poignant “Friends Forever” featuring a heartfelt performance from Cooper and a beautiful piano melody. You will be singing along to this one, I guarantee it. Then again, I could say the same for many of the songs on this cd as the songwriting is superb and there are so many great melodies to be had.

One of my favorites is the mini-epic “Incident at Haldeman’s Lake”. It is long enough for the musicians to strut their stuff but is still catchy as hell. This one features a dramatic beginning, excellent layered vocals, tasty drumming, and some tasty licks provided by Wehrkamp and Barabas. At times Wehrkamp’s guitar takes on a Wall-period Floyd sound. An excellent prog metal tune and probably my favorite on the album. One of the catchiest songs is found in the pure melodic rock of “I Promise You”, a guilty pleasure if there ever was one. I have only just touched the surface in describing this disc and will leave the rest for you to discover. In a year that produced many strong musical highlights this was one of my favorites. Highly recommended.

Rating: 9 (out of ten)
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf

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Discography
Voice in the Light (2007)