This
multinational talent squad features bassist Randy Coven (played with
Steve Vai and Steve Morse), drummer John Macaluso (from the band TNT
and Yngwie's band), keyboardist Mats Olausson (also played with
Yngwie and in Jorn Lande's band), and two musicians with the cult
statuses: guitar virtuoso Tore Ostby (of Conception and DC Cooper's fame) and vocalist-extraordinaire Jorn Lande. They released two albums, s/t (1999) and "Burn The Sun" (2001),
toured Europe and participated in the Prog Power USA 2.0 festival.
The future looked bright for them, but suddenly, just as the band
started writing for a new album, the conflict between Lande and
Ostby/Macaluso struck, resulting in Jorn's departure from the
band. The rest of the guys recruited a replacement and attempted to
continue recording, but nothing really prespired, and finally Ostby called it a day, concentrating on life outside of music.
ARK (2000)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: "Where The Winds Blow,"
"Hunchback of Notre Dam," "Singers At The World's
Dawn"
Very proggy indeed, and does not pack nearly
the punch of its successor. The skill is undeniable, and every
member of this talented trio (Randy Coven hasn't joined yet) is a
master of his instrument, but after the album is over I can only
remember two moments from it, choruses to "Where The Winds Blow"
("Where the winds blow, that's where I'll go, down the river to the
sea") and "Singers" ("I know. You know. We know. It's been going on
for so long"), both of which feature haunting vocals from Jorn. Very
technical solos from Ostby, but virtually none are as memorable as
his Conception or "Burn The Sun" stuff. Songwriting is not very
strong: sounds like a bunch of unrelated melodies thrown together.
They were clearly going for the jazzy sound and arrangements, which
epitomized 90s prog metal, and, although they are rather well
executed, the catchiness of individual melodies is sacrificed. Not
very impressive, considering Tore started working on this project
before Conception disbanded, making it almost a three year period.
Overall, I'd recommend it to you only if you are an insane fan of
Jorn, Tore, and John, or a huge proghead, or a combination of
thereof.
BURN
THE SUN (2001)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: title track, "Just A Little,"
"Waking Hour"
Well, this is definitely a lot closer
to Conception than Kamelot! I must
also add that in time I've grown to appreciate this album more than
immediately after getting it. Tore Ostby's jerky guitar playing
style is definitely in a league of its own and cannot be confused
with anybody else's. In a world with so many bands sounding like
each other, Dream Theatre,
Judas Priest, or Helloween,
this band sticks out like a hitchiker's thumb. Most of songs have this
weird, semi-prog, semi-techno, semi-jazz, atmospheric sound,
sometimes slow, sometimes fast, that gives Jorn Lande an opportunity
to showcase a whole palette of emotions, as he is always present "a
little to the side" of melody. Throughout the album, and sometimes
in the same song he sounds sad, enthusiastic, insane, controlling,
funny, romantic, ice-cold, happy, and sinister. The album is mostly
themed around various scince, pseudo-science, and science fiction
images, in both lyrics and music. The album has plenty of Star
Trek-like effects, that remind me of Gamma
Ray and Blaze, and appropriate lyrics. Now, how good is it? In most
places -- quite outstanding, with tracks like "Heal The Waters,"
killer title cut, "Resurrection," "Waking Hour," and "Noose" all
being terrific. Some songs, like "Absolute Zero" and "Missing You" I
just don't appreciate (I don't think anybody can, without doing
three or four hits of LSD first). Check out the lyris to "AZ":
"Electrical conductors / hundreds of years freezing / trigonometric
flight to the sun / fragments of galaxies on the run / escaping from
the eclipse of eternity." A modern day Pink Floyd? Whatever you
prefer. Btw, music on this song is just as disjointed as the lyrics,
and I just can't figure out any pattern to the vocal melody. But
this album has "Just A Little," and for that song alone it's gonna
go down in history. This is what we've all been missing since
Conception "aborted": great melodies, great vocal harmonies, Spanish
guitar, great spirit, and muse-evoking lyrics. Hell yeah, that's
what I'm talking about, Tore! I don't give a damn if sounds like
Gypsy Kings or whoever else, this song RULES!! The weak side of the
album comes mainly from the last three songs that fall out of the
context completely. They all have the word "baby" in them, and they
just don't sound like belong on "Burn The Sun." The last track is
slightly better, but still nowhere near the greatness of some other
tunes. So, it's a bit uneven, and there's room for improvement. I
must also mention great bass playing from Mr. Coven, great and
tasteful drumming from Mr. Macaluso, and fitting keys from Mr.
Olausson. If you can find this album, don't miss it, because then
you'd miss "Just A Little," and you haven't lived till you've heard
it.
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