Him (03)
7-21-03
Glenn Hansen has crafted a fine tapestry of intricate songs focused on humanity's need for a savior, aptly titled Him. Treading the waters of keyboard-free neo prog, Hansen's music falls somewhere between Sunny Day Real Estate, newer Pink Floyd, and Marillion's Brave. A virtual one-man band (except for drums), Hansen was blessed with many talents, including being a fine guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Although the excellent musicianship plays cabby to the vocal delivery and message rather than charting the course like most progressive rock, Him is far from standard CCM fare. The songs themselves twist and turn delightfully with Hansen's interspersed acoustic and electric guitars, offbeat rhythms, and solid bass lines, all accentuated by John Gobin's tasteful drumming. While not overtly progressive in the standard classic sense, the songs on Him are all musically dense and creative. This isn't a light meal by any stretch, the album demands that you engage yourself with it, absorbing it, identifying with it, contemplating the spiritual implications, delighting in the interesting riffs. Hansen's strong lyrics brim with conviction and hope, full of encouragement to weary pilgrims. The two darker songs, Nothing and Some Things Never Change, deal with themes of child abuse and "Screwtape Letter" type temptation. The CD has great production and packaging, and was obviously a labor of much love. This album has really grabbed me, and you would do well to pick yourself up a copy. More information and sound clips can be found at http://www.glennhansenmusic.com, although you really need to listen to the whole album for the full effect, as the sound clips really don't do it justice. {dt}
Hermetic Science
Ed Macon's Hermetic Science (97); Prophecies (99)
All-instrumental progressive band from mallet-percussionist, keyboardist and prog author Ed Macon (Rocking the Classics; English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture). Jazzy, progressive pieces feature lead vibraphones, marimbas and keyboards doing original songs and classical and progressive covers (Gustav Holst’s orchestral masterpiece "Mars, the Bringer of War," from The Planets suite; also ELP, Rush and Curved Air tunes). It's interesting music, very dynamic and tastefully done. Macon is very talented at his instruments. This stuff won't be everyone's cup of tea though, especially if they are into the "rock" spectrum of progressive music. This stuff is more on the cerebral, mellow side of things. Macon and drummer Mike Morris are Christians. Info and sound clips can be found at http://www.hermeticscience.com
Holdsworth, Allan
Metal Fatigue (85)
I have no idea if Holdsworth is a Christian, but the lyrics on Metal Fatigue seem to lean in that direction. It's his most rocking album, and it truly is a classic with excellent virtuoso musicianship throughout. Lyrics to Panic Station, for instance: "You, came to me, I was lost, now I'm free, Free! Came to heal me, came to save me." Holdworth has played for many of the greats, including Gong, Jean-luc Ponty, U.K., and you'd be hard pressed to find a guitarist who wasn't impressed with him. Metal Fatigue is a must. {dt}
Danger (98); Small World, Big God (00)
Holy Cross have made a very professional sounding recording with their new release, Small World, Big God. The clips are so short its hard to get a good feel, but the band sounds tight, and the production is quite good. They have a definite modern era Kansas sound, and having David Ragsdale on your record certainly doesn't hurt that comparison. Good musicianship, and a talented vocalist. I didn't read the lyrics, but the message is soundly Christian. Its definitely worth a listen, especially if you like Kansas or Salem Hill. Their web page is http://www.holycrossband.com {dt}
Musically the CD Small World Big God has a progressive feel to it, blended with a southern classic rock sound. Though there are times when the music may not seem overtly progressive, the overall effect of "Small World Big God" is that it gives the impression of a progressive atmosphere. Arkangel's "Warrior" is a good example of this-- the songs are sometimes progressive and other times more straight forward on the recording but the overall feel and packaging are unmistakably progressive. There are times when the vocals on Small World, Big God stray off key. The guitar leads are sweet, great feel, tasteful speed when warranted, and guts-- overall the instrumental performance is good and they have David Ragsdale on violin making a guest appearance which is a significant enhancement. Lyrically, these guys are about ministry and their words are rooted in the faith. There may be moments where, from an artistic perspective, the lyrics seem vulnerable to criticism, but there are also moments when they're artistically right on. The lyrics to "Even Angels Fall" approach a certain simple yet solemn tone, and are set well with good prosody. The mood of the music and lyrics match. In this case the music to "Even Angels Fall" also has a simple yet solemn feel. {M.T.}
Beyond the Crystal Sea
A hard-to-find classic Christian prog album from the early 80's, released only on vinyl. Think ethereal Pink Floyd type stuff mixed with Rush 2112 riffing, with vocals inspired by Jon Anderson and songs about heavenly dwellings and the holy lamb. There's some great prog keyboard playing on the disc, as well as Hotz's heavy handed guitar playing. Well worth tracking down. There used to be some sound clips available on the web when mp3.com existed. I have no idea whats out there now. Hotz has a new EP also available as well, and it is rumored to be re-releasing a CD soon from Rad Rockers. Hotz also produced the classic original Christina prog album Warrior by Arkangel. {dt}
The Journey Into; Subconscious (04); Oblivious to the Obvious (09)
Subconscious
Hourglass is a rollicking and tasty new heavy progressive band from Utah that's been getting a lot of attention lately. There's a reason for that. These guys are talented and extremely tight, driven by mastermind/writer Brick Williams' shredding guitar riffs and Cody Walker's capable voice, which is more modern hard rock than metal sounding. John Dunstan is the power drummer, Clark Woolstenhulme deftly plays various fretted, fretless, and upright basses, and Eric Robertson, a professional accompanist and piano player, handles the keyboard duties with taste and dexterity. These clean cut young guys rock (OK, clean cut guys from Utah, I know what you are thinking..). Each member of Hourglass is an excellent musician (most of them give lessons professionally), they have both chops and songwriting smarts, and they've crafted a fantastic album in Subconscious, which clocks in at nearly 80 minutes. Evoking bands from Dream Theater to Kansas, this is a progressive rock concept album with a twist. The story follows a family that encounters trials and tragedy when the father goes off to war and doesn't return home. The songs alternate between the points of view of the man's mother, widow and his two children as they individually struggle with their loss, their patriotism, their faith in God, and ultimately, their future. The mother and daughter take things the hardest, but the mother provides the soundest perspective: "If there's nothing to believe in, then life would have no reason, if faith is seeing blindly, then remove my sight from me, I'm unshaken" (from The Believer). It's rare in the progressive rock world to find such deep, thoughtful, heartfelt songs woven into such a varied and tasteful musical tapestry. The music alternates from fret burning machine-gun prog to tasteful, melodic acoustic ballads rich with vocal harmonies. It's a record that hits you hard, yet grows on you with each listen. The lyrics make you think, and they lift your spirit to consider higher things, such as where your hope truly lies. I really like this band, and I don't generally like prog-metal that much. Hourglass' time has come. {dt 12/5/04}
With their new 2009 release Oblivious to the Obvious, Hourglass immediately shows its colors: progressive metal in the same league as Dream Theater. There is nothing wrong with that, just as there is nothing wrong with Chelsea being in the same league as Manchester United. So, expect Rush meets Liquid Tension Experiment, plain and simple.
The opening track, On the Brink, reveals lots of genuine prog-metal elements: power chords, shredding riffs, high-pitched solo’s, changing time signatures, etc. Interestingly, the closing track of the album, the title track, more or less serves as the other bookend: it also has all the typical style figures of the prog-metal genre. And it is almost as if Hourglass decided to use the rest of the songs in between the bookends to treat some of those elements separately. One song is more ballad-like, another is more jazzy, funky, or rocky.
For some reason I also find the first and last track most memorable. Even after a dozen or so spins in the CD player, I still do not find myself humming melodies from the album, which seems a little meager for a double CD Perhaps it would have been better after all to select the best tunes for a single disc release. That is not to say the album is not interesting. Despite the somewhat forgettable melodies there is a lot going on in the background: complex rhythm pattern and impeccable musicianship, reminiscent of Yes, King Crimson, UK and even Zappa. So musically, Hourglass seems to have survived a long interval since the preceding album Subconscious and a change of personnel. The new singer, Michael Turner, sounds like a really competent vocalist for a prog-metal band.
The fact that most band members thank God in the liner notes suggests Hourglass have a Christian background. I find it hard to point this out in the lyrics, which mainly seem to be about life issues and relational struggles. It is not clear to me, for instance, what the ‘obvious’ is we are allegedly oblivious to (death? love?), but the lyrics are full of hope and longing rather than pessimism. So for readers of a website dedicated to spiritually positive prog, Hourglass is certainly a band they should know about and for those who are into prog-metal Oblivious to the Obvious is a release they should certainly form their own opinion of. Go to http://www.hourglassband.com/ for info. {BC}
Alpha and Omega
Progressive jazz-fusion released on a Christian label in the mid-80's, you can possibly find it on vinyl somewhere. Quite good actually, and very progressive with nice keyboards and off kilter time signatures. It reminds me of a lot of the good fusion of the 70's like Return to Forever or Jean-Luc Ponty's Enigmatic Ocean. Happy hunting. {dt}