To put Iconic Eye into modern perspective this is not your parents or grandparents AOR. When you think of AOR in a hard and heavy capacity bands like Journey, REO, Styx, Survivor, Toto, etc … always come to mind. While Iconic Eye certainly carry elements of bands from AOR’s past in the same tune they carry heavier and harder elements like Gary Hughes’s Ten, Brazen Abbot, the supergroup Rated X etc… They seem to also have some prog influences such as Gary Hughes Once And Future King rock/metal opera to Pink Creme 69.
There are 12 tracks on Hidden In Plain Sight. After my multiple listens, I really believe every track and song will hold up in a live set each with their own studio integrity and purpose. You have straight away rocker hits and potential live anthems with tracks Now That I’ve Found Love, You Make It,All She Needed, Don’t Stop Me From Leaving. There are more traditionally AOR sounding tracks like Let It Rain Down , I Can Feel it , and Every Little Thing that remind me of greats like Survivor’s- High On You or Honeymoon Suite’s – I Feel It Again or Journey’s – Separate Ways.
No matter the direction of the album I feel it is one of those that will serve a two-fold purpose. One it will most definitely attract old school Baby Boomer and Generation X’ers that were around during AOR, Hard Rock’s ‘Golden Age’ and introduce younger audience to a form and genre that seems that it does not plan on going away any time soon. I give Iconic Eye’s Hidden In Plain Sight a 4/5 for giving the world a album that will eventually reach many generations to come.
back from our Gig in Eschbach, wedon’t wantto hold back some impressions abouthow it went.First of all, many thanks to the MC Scorpions Hessen for the warm welcome and the great evening!
When Mike Visaggio of Kinetic Element set me up with the album Travelog I was in a state a anticipation I had not been in quite some time. After my review of Anuryzm’s All Is Not For All off Melodic Revolution Records I spotted the making of a great progressive rock/metal label. Now with Kinetic Element’s Travelog it has only served to reinforce and confirm that Melodic RevolutionRecords is postioning itself to contend as a great prog label.
First of all, if you are a progressive rock purist this album will be a sonic paradise for your listening pleasure. The band lists Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, Kansas, IQ, Transatlantic, Renaissance as some of their influences. When I listen to Travelog I hear those and so much more. Throughout this review I will point those out.
War Song is the ‘perfect’ progressive rock track to open Travelog as it clocks in at 20:29. The intro beckons the epics of the past such as Yes’ Close To The Edge and Revealing Science Of God – DanceOf The Dawn from Tales Of Topographic Oceans crossed with Genesis’ Suppers Ready and Emerson Lake And Palmers Tarkus. There is some great atmospheric keyboards tuned to mellotron and hammond organ standards, with rich rhythm sections between bass and drums. The vocals are like a cross of Jon Anderson of Yes meets Donald Faegen of Steely Dan. Between the 12:50 to 13:00 marks there is a great yet subtle fuzzy distorted guitar to match the keys in perfect harmony. The vocals really explode at the 14:00 mark and work with the atmospheric background the keyboards continue to carry in this track.
Travelog opens up with a plush 16th century style acoustic renaissance vibe. It has shades of the prog band Renaissance meets Al Di Meola . Then a plush harmonic vocal of the opening to the USA’s National Anthem. It reminds me of how Yes would use items like Roundabout‘s from their homeland or Genesis’ Selling England By The Pound, as classy patriotic inuendoe’s.
Into The Lair is a defining track. It seems as if the band have taken their influences along with their own arsenal and formed their own sound out of thise fires. With the female vocal on it I am often reminded of Annie Halsam of Renaissance and Renate Knaupf of Amon Duul ii , the 2 first ladies of progressive rock for sure. Into The Lair completely reminds me of Renaissance’s track like Mother Russia crossed with epic power of Amon Duul ii Phallaus Dei . It also presents a wide cross section of time signatures where every instrument stands out as a collective thus tightening Travelog even more.
Her begins with a lush gorgeous orchestral piano style passage. This is followed with a very deep rhythm section. The intro most definitely reminds me of the jazz style employed on Steely Dan’s Aja album with some Alan Holdsworth sprinkled over it for flavour. Her is a prog version of a SteelyDan’s Kid Charlemagne meets Yes’ Heart Of The Sunrise both lyrically and instrumentally.
Vision Of A New Dawn definitely opens up like more a jazz symphonic progressive rock assembly. Heavy in keyboards building a tapestry for the deeper colours of shade with the rhythm section between drums and bass. The keyboards at times have flute effects reminding me of Ian Anderson at some points throughout the track. At 18:26, Vision Of A New Dawn is perfectly arranged on the album. Much like War Song was a great epic to open the album, Vision Of A New Dawn eloquently and properly closes the album.
After a few listens Travelog grew on me and I understood where the band was taking the listener. If you are a prog rock purist that loves a few 20 minute tracks and a journey in your mind Travelog is that album for you. Nick Katona and Melodic Revolution Records have found a great live band and festival band. Kinetic Element are one of those bands that can be a label staple anywhere in the industry. I give Travelog a 5/5 for grace and purity of the heritage of symphonic prog’s past, present and future.
Abnormal Thought Patterns | Altered State Of Consciousness
Label: Lifeforce Records Release Year: 2015 Country: California USA Genre: Progressive, Technical, Shred, Metal instrumental,Djent
Band Members Jasun Tipton – Guitars and Keys Troy Tipton – Bass Jason Montero – Guitars Mike Guy – Drums Guest Musicians Tommy Rogers -Vocals – Between The Buried And Me Jeff Loomis – Guitars- ex- Nevermore Michael Manring – Bass John Onder – Bass
It is summer 2001 and I am in a local record store here in Houston Texas called Diamondhead Records. My journey that day was to ‘only’ buy Trent Gardner’s (Megellan) new rock/metal opera called Leonardo- The Absolute Man. I get to the counter to make my purchase and the guy behind the counter had a opened copy of Zero Hour’s Tower Of Avarice. He told me take the CD over to the listening station, BOOM I was instantly hooked in. This was a new style of Progressive Metal at the time branded Djent. I was an immediate fan and proceeded to purchase Towers Of Avarice and Zero Hour’s self titled debut from 1998. I have been a fan of Jasun and Troy Tipton and Mike Guy since. Now quite a few years after they called it a day as Zero Hour, the trio return once again as Abnormal Thought Patterns – Altered State Of Consciousness.
This time they have returned with some serious fire power from well seasoned veterans like Jeff Loomis – Guitars- ex- Nevermore , Michael Manring – Bass , John Onder – Bass, Tim Roth – Into Eternity – Guitar, and Tommy Rogers – Vocals – Between The Buried And Me .
The albums’ first track Distortions of Perception starts off with a fury of shred and shredfest with a wicked detuned rhythmic under belly. The rhythmic underbelly reminds me of theequivalent of a melodic hammer hitting a rhythmic anvil in detuned harmonic bliss. And the shredfest is up there at Malmsteen meets Satriani.
The band continues the shred and rhythm fest in their next track Nocturnal Haven , where the signature vocal style of Between The Buried And Me’s Tommy Rogers belts out one hell of a growl before popping the clutch and down shifting towards a more cleaner vocal and goes back and forth between growl and clean vocals throughout Nocturnal Haven . You may recognize the guitar solo at the 4:45 mark. That is executed quite well in his own style of one Jeff Loomis ex- Nevermore .
Blindsight is a math genius’s thinking man’s composition. With wicked and abnormal time signatures that keep the listener guessing where this track is going. The bass solo at the 2:30 mark from Troy Tipton serves as both a bridge and highlight to the track itself.
Synesthesia with a wicked double bass passage back and forth between the legendary Michael Manring and jazz sensation John Onder. Synesthesia is a rhythm musicians paradise and clinic. Synesthesia is the perfectly arranged on the album and serves as a bridge to where the remainder of Altered State Of Consciousness is going.
Delusions opens up with great drum work by Mike Guy. Delusions reminds me of the Zero Hour days and tracks like Reflections and Demise and Vestige from Towers Of Avarice from 2001 and portions of Voice of Reason and Metamorphosis from Zero Hour’s debut in 1998. They then proceed to provide a Instrumental track to Nocturnal Haven with the work of Jeff Loomis’ left in there and now Into Eternity’s Tim Roth on guitars as well.
Subliminal Perception opens up with a semi electric vibe that prog bands execute from time to time. Subliminal Perception is perhaps the most balanced track on the album. It satisfies the needs for listeners of great plush rhythmic sections and the beauty of stringed and keyboard passages. Subliminal Perception totally lives up to its name from First to final second.
While most people would consider this a comeback for the Tipton brothers and Mike Guy, I see this as a transition into the growth of the band. More of a new creation than a evolution for the band. They adapted perfectly in their lengthy absence. It also leaves you with the curiosity as to where the band is going from here. I give Abnormal Thought Patterns – Altered State Of Consciousness a 4.5/5.
We’ll now leave you, with a song, THAT DISPLAYED THE INNOVATIVE BASS PLAYER’S TALENTS, accompanied by THE INGENUITY & INSTRUMENTAL DEXTERITY of YES, as depicted on ” MIND DRIVE. ”
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