Album: Between The Madness (2013)
Genre: Prog Metal (Melodic/Prog Rock) / USA
I have been a fan of Clay Withrow's music since I first heard 'Manikin Parade', and I have been lucky enough to hear everything they have released since, so when I became aware that a fourth full-length album was coming out I was suitably excited. Jeren Martin was again working with Clay on bass, while they had a new drummer in Kyle Haws plus a few guests on additional guitar and strings. Clay of course provides everything else. So, when the CD arrived I put it on and played it all the way through and for some reason I felt quite disappointed, but couldn't put my finger on it. I gave it a rest for a few days and then played it again: this time feeling that I had got it wrong first time, but it still wasn't what I expected from the guys. It wasn't until the third play that I really started to enjoy it and each time since then the album has just seemed better and better. I think for me the reason I found it hard to get into the album is because I believe that the drums are too high in the mix. A mix is always personal to the listener, and one of the hardest things I have had to do is provide constructive feedback on a mix to a producer, as listening to music to review it as a whole is a quite different thing to listening to music just concentrating on production. So once I recognised that as a factor in how I was regarding the album I was able to move that to one side and just concentrate on the songs. Here is an album that has seen the band grow, both in musical style and in stature. The harmony vocals are bang on, and the restrained use of falsetto here and there provides an additional edge, much as Roger Taylor used to do with Queen. There is music that rocks and belts along, or music that is way more gentle and refined, with a control that is breathtaking. Clay provides some breathtaking solos and runs, or crunching riffs, or acoustic, whatever is right for the song itself while Jeren seems to instinctively know what is required to lift the piece itself, either providing the bedrock, or additional back up melodies, or even not playing at all and allowing the space created to be used by others. Although it will be viewed by many as progressive metal, there are passages and even complete songs that are far more crossover in aspect than one would expect from the genre, and the result is something that yet again is a wonderful piece of work. Review by "kev rowland" (Prog Archives).
RATING: ??????????????
.
Genre: Prog Metal (Melodic/Prog Rock) / USA
I have been a fan of Clay Withrow's music since I first heard 'Manikin Parade', and I have been lucky enough to hear everything they have released since, so when I became aware that a fourth full-length album was coming out I was suitably excited. Jeren Martin was again working with Clay on bass, while they had a new drummer in Kyle Haws plus a few guests on additional guitar and strings. Clay of course provides everything else. So, when the CD arrived I put it on and played it all the way through and for some reason I felt quite disappointed, but couldn't put my finger on it. I gave it a rest for a few days and then played it again: this time feeling that I had got it wrong first time, but it still wasn't what I expected from the guys. It wasn't until the third play that I really started to enjoy it and each time since then the album has just seemed better and better. I think for me the reason I found it hard to get into the album is because I believe that the drums are too high in the mix. A mix is always personal to the listener, and one of the hardest things I have had to do is provide constructive feedback on a mix to a producer, as listening to music to review it as a whole is a quite different thing to listening to music just concentrating on production. So once I recognised that as a factor in how I was regarding the album I was able to move that to one side and just concentrate on the songs. Here is an album that has seen the band grow, both in musical style and in stature. The harmony vocals are bang on, and the restrained use of falsetto here and there provides an additional edge, much as Roger Taylor used to do with Queen. There is music that rocks and belts along, or music that is way more gentle and refined, with a control that is breathtaking. Clay provides some breathtaking solos and runs, or crunching riffs, or acoustic, whatever is right for the song itself while Jeren seems to instinctively know what is required to lift the piece itself, either providing the bedrock, or additional back up melodies, or even not playing at all and allowing the space created to be used by others. Although it will be viewed by many as progressive metal, there are passages and even complete songs that are far more crossover in aspect than one would expect from the genre, and the result is something that yet again is a wonderful piece of work. Review by "kev rowland" (Prog Archives).
RATING: ??????????????
.
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