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: : Broken :
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When this first
started, I began to wonder if I was listening to the group I once
remembered. I wasn’t sure if this was the band from the early days of
the second wave of progressive rock. To me, this sounded like a grunge
band along the lines of Garbage. I was about to set it aside for a later
time when I was in the mood for this type of music. Not a second sooner,
track four commenced and I became aware I had the unwrapped the golden
ticket.
In “The Queen of
Sheba”, you can clearly hear the streaming guitars and the bass-filled
brooks of their real progressive persona. This song is nothing short of
exquisite.
The next song threw
me for a loop as it was the theme song from The Lone Ranger. To
introduce an innovative twist on this proverbial ditty, additional
baubles and foibles were tossed into the cauldron alongside each
conventional bit. For those knowledgeable connoisseurs of the classics,
this is formally known as “The William Tell Overture”. They keep the
name, so if I checked the track-listing, I’d had known it was a
household name. Then again, I still wouldn’t have drawn the conclusion
that this cut elicited a charge and Clayton Moore’s arrival.
After that, they
include a song I recall from a decade back called “Million Miles Away”.
This is one of the finest tracks in the discography and here they
augment it with a monumental finish.
They continue to
demonstrate their versatility and cross another milestone. They start
the following song with a scratchy recording and then turn it into a
renovated version. Optimus Prime would be jealous of their
transformation. They must be proud of this piece as they designate it,
“I’m So Glad”. The premium grounds from this pot of gold round out an
incredible series.
To chafe these
affairs with an inveterate itch, they provide an extended edition of
“Broken.” The edited alternative opened the album and while it wasn’t
exactly flat, this was the one that had me confounded. The second time’s
the charm as I found this rendered in a “slightly” more progressive
manner.
For a single and an
EP, this is far from wrecked. If they went to the scrap heap or had to
construct this creation quickly, you’d hardly think this was refurbished
or deficient. While glass shatters into a million worthless pieces,
these remnants represent some laudable raw materials. If this is random
miscellany, I can’t wait to see what they put together for an official
package.
8.25/10 (the average
of 8/10 for the first half and 8.5 for the second)
Reviewer: Josh Turner
: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
Volume One (1990)
Volume Two: Brainstorm (1992)
Tragic Symphony (1994)
Until Eternity (1996)
Live In Tokyo (1997)
Excelsior! (1999)
Angel of the Apocalypse (2000)
Prog, Fusion, Metal, Leather & Sweat (2000)
Broken (ep) (2005)
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