The follow up to the critical acclaimed 'Subconscious' album took more than 4
years to complete, and the outcome is ten songs and 2 hours and 19 minutes worth
of material.
Hourglass
has created nothing short of a progressive mammoth that leaves absolutely
nothing to be desired for once you've managed to take it all in, and it is a lot
I promise...
And they have not limited themselves in any way, with musical references to so
many great progressive bands; Power of Omens, Fates Warning, Rush, Kansas,
Enchant, Dream Theater and Shadow Gallery just to name some. Mastermind behind
the band, guitarist Brick Williams, is musically taking us into neo-prog, old
school progressive rock, progressive metal, Spanish folklore and melodic rock
territories with great success.
Virtuosity, diversity and complexity are the adjectives I feel describes
Hourglass'
epic creations the best, and this is thinking man's music in its purest form,
and while not everything shines equally bright there is simply so much
equilibristic and masterful music that I just sit back in awe.
The technical level is at a very high level, and each member gets enough room to
shine; vocalist Michael Turner, who sound like the perfect combination between
Ted Leonard and Ray Alder has the perfect voice for these creations and shows
his full palette of emotions on the album. The musician I feel stands out the
most, besides the multitalented song writer Brick Williams, is bass player Eric
Blood; some of his bass runs are simply amazing. The rest of the band performs
at the highest level as well, and some of the instrumental passages leave me
awestricken.
This is a self released and produced album, which means the production, lacks
some; the drum production is below par, and the sound could be clearer, but
given the circumstances at hand I think that the outcome is good with room for
improvements.
Sure once you go out on a limb you are taking a big risk; they do not manage to
perform at the highest level throughout all 30 minutes of the title-track, but
that is just me nitpicking a bit because
Hourglass
is surely one of the most talented progressive bands around without a deal...
Hourglass
has everything needed to be the next big thing in progressive metal, and I just
hope they manage to run their career better than Power of Omens did, so that we
will hear a lot from them in the future, and not see them disappear into
oblivion...
It is obvious to me that
Hourglass
is a diamond in the rough, and this is a mandatory purchase if progressive metal
is the name of the game for you!
