by WPaPU-Nick | Mar 15, 2015 | News, Reviews
Band: UFO
Album: A Conspiracy of Stars
Reviewer: Joe from When Prog and Power Unite
Official UFO Website
It’s hard to find a band that have rocked for as long as UFO. While most listeners are familiar with the band’s early work, which was instrumental in helping transition hard rock to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, UFO have released multiple albums in each decade since their 1970 self-titled debut. Their newest album, A Conspiracy of Stars, is the first in three years, as well as the first to feature longtime touring bassist Rob De Luca. Full disclosure: Until this newest album I hadn’t listened to anything since the dawn of UFO’s Vinnie Moore era. A lot has changed.
My first impression was: “Man, this is a lot of treble”, but my second and third impressions were “these guys can still rock” and “Phil Mogg’s voice sounds awesomely like rusted steel and worn leather”. The fact is that this album treads on heavy like a slow moving steamroller. It’s a solid hard rocker from front to end; predictable, but with attitude. There’s a nice balance between catchiness and grit, which is something UFO have always been known for, and something they still excel at today.
Lyrically, A Conspiracy of Stars is what you would expect. Mogg and UFO are best when they balance road wisdom with heavy metal cynicism and heartache. Songs like “Ballad of the Left Hand Gun” and “Devil’s in the Details” are all the more memorable for it. Others, like “Messiah of Love”, feel far less authentic.
My other only other complaint about the album is that I did find things lacking in the production department. For one, Rob De Luca’s bass work is not very audible. I found myself having to toy around with my EQ settings before I could really make A Conspiracy of Stars sound complete.
There’s little to be said, other than that A Conspiracy of Stars is a good album for anyone that likes straightforward hard rock and classic metal. Just as UFO’s pre-metal output has a timeless metal sound, so does their music even after NWOBHM is over. A Conspiracy of Stars may not rival the band’s best work, it can’t possibly be disappointing to fans of the genre. No special effects or surprise here; just good solid rock.
Video Teaser for Conspiracy of Stars
by WPaPU-Nick | Mar 8, 2015 | News, Reviews
Band: The Gentle Storm
Album: The Diary
Reviewer: Nick from When Prog and Power Unite
Official Arjen Lucassen Website
Official Anneke van Giersbergen Website
Buy on Amazon
The Gentle Storm is the newest in a growing list of projects from Dutch maestro Arjen Anthony Lucassen, and features lyricist and vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen. While that pairing alone should have any prog fan turning their head, the pairings’ debut work, The Diary, is more than simply great composer meets great vocalist. The album comes in two discs, one “gentle” and one “storm”, featuring softer and heavier versions of the same songs. But don’t be fooled into thinking the softer album is simply your typical stripped down acoustic album. Instead the songs, while seemingly built from the same cores, are constructed quite differently on each disc.
The glue between the two discs is most certainly Anneke, who’s beautiful and melodic vocals shine through on both versions of each song. For those unfamiliar with her previous work, most famously on Devin Townsend Project albums, you are in for a treat. She manages to have a hauntingly beautiful timbre to her voice, but she has the ability to present it with significant power. Not to be confused at all with more “ballsy” female vocalists, she simply manages to hang on high notes without appearing thin.
Instrumentally I would say the “gentle” disc is certainly the more interesting of the two versions. There is an amazing diversity of instruments that put unique stamps all over the tracks. The “storm” album isn’t particularly heavy or metal by many standards, but has a traditional drum setup and is generally more guitar driven than its counterpart and is probably closer to Ayreon than Star One. The “gentle” tracks however bring full on folk and eclectic sounds that have not been seen since Ayreon debuted with The Final Experiment. The “gentle” album is also where you will likely notice what a fantastic job Arjen has done with the piano on this album, as it is featured prominently on several tracks.
One of the aspects I enjoyed about the “storm” album, is that the only keys are the piano; no minimoog, or synthesizers; truly a first for Arjen. With that in mind, if you take a moment to notice the sounds you’d so often associate with a keyboard patch on the albums and listen closely, you can fully appreciate how nice the plethora of instruments sound in their place. Even on the heavier “storm” album the violins, double bass, and other strings really stand out. The analog synths that Arjen has often employed has always been one of my favorite parts of his sound, and so for an album without them to be so good is a big credit to him.
Arjen’s songwriting and use of the many instrumentalists is stunning throughout both discs. Arjen clearly did not set out to make the “gentle” album more than an album featuring cheap acoustic versions usually used as b-sides and fillers by other artists. The thought and arrangement of the music clearly shines through, and the albums don’t feel identical songs with instruments swapped out. Anneke’s lyrics and vocals are captivating and powerful, as to be expected based on her recent collaborations. With every listen new songs and new parts always seem to stand out, and in the end this looks like another home run from Holland’s leading progressive mastermind.
Video for The Heart of Amsterdam
