DPRP2015 by Marcel Hartenberg
Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages... Oh no, wait this is not Trekkie territory around here. Here we
have a universe created by those magnificent men and woman that already sent us into space with their Attack of the
Martians album.
The line-up of the band has changed, partly due to the untimely passing of the band's original
drummer Mark Cella. He is still missed, having played an important role in the band. Apart from introducing a new man
on the drums, the band has added Tom Benson, who plays violin, guitar synth and the ever popular MandoBot.
The cover of the album takes us into vintage sci-fi movie territory, and a closer look at the track titles does the
same. Opener Breaking Osiris comes with an Eastern flavour, yet this does not hark back to the times of the Egyptian
pharaohs, it is all about Hubble images. Space and sci-fi are the central themes.
The band sure know their
ELP and their King Crimson. Yet what they have succeed in, is to build on trademarks such as the grumbling bass, as
much as the great vintage key sounds and the violin parts, as any lover of either of those bands would want them to.
Their music is not simply a 1 + 1 of the music of these bands. What we have here is firmly rooted in the mystery that
the sci-fi movies of old hold. The songs put that feel, that vibe into music. The richness in the keys is one of the
main ingredients here, varied and spicy, as you might expect a meal to be produced from fusion cooking.
Both drummers are featured on the album and it is a great testimony to Mark Cella that his follow-up is a great
drummer as well. What Bill Noland does with his bass is simply stunning, as Stellar Attraction easily shows. This is
a song in which the whole of the band excel. Not that the other songs on this album are any less compelling, it is just
the amazing bass part in the second track that left me stunned. As for bass sounds, wait for the opening seconds of
the epic Creation of the Humanoids. As Madeleine Noland shows around the 1:50 mark, there might be some ELP vibe left
in this band, but hey, this is far more than a tribute band could ever be.
It would be one great adventure
to hear this music played live, yet picturing this band perform these great instrumental tracks in a vintage sci fi
movie setting, already works miracles. If you like your prog to be heavy on keyboards, with a sense of humour in there
as well, and by a band that builds their own musical landscapes as they go along, this might be your ideal trip into
space.
Conclusion: 7.5 out of 10
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