This is introspective and quite mellow, but not drifting into the singer-songwriter territory, lest you worry. It's very bluesy and harkens back to a simple era of story led rock. From the title track on down this is quite a good release that rewards you with each listen. Not what you would expect to hear the mighty Gillan singing, but quite rewarding nonetheless. Now one has to wonder if Gillan might tour this album in smaller venues for his fans to witness. Now that would be a real treat for all.
Closer: A Darker Kind of Salvation
This release is definitely one that grows on you. At first coming across as a bit like all the rest of the metalcore tinged metal releases of late. However, it is a mistake to write it off in such a way. There is quite a bit of clever musicality here and its not just in your face screaming.
Take for instance the quite impressive “Open Your Eyes” with its piano and prog-tastic instrumentation. Yes, there are still metalcore vocals over the top but here is quite a bit of depth here which seems to work. This is probably the most approachable song for those who are not fans of the metalcore genre.
The album needs to percolate a bit to truly get interesting. Spend a bit of time with it and you start to hear its endearing features. Not one of my favourite releases of the year that is for sure, but of this sort of release it is by far my favourite. It will certainly be interesting to see what they come up with next. They are a band that can be filed in “ones to watch” without much argument.
Well, that is your lot for the week. Well, one more thing, if you are into symphonic space opera soundtracks check out the CD for Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. I hope those at SWSX will enjoy the live music there. Have a good, safe and entertaining week.
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