PLANET X

". . . Oh baby, this rocks heavy like U.K. meets Prong! Derek Sherinian on keys, Virgil Donati on skins, Tony MacAlpine on axe and Tom Kennedy guests on bass. Highly recommended, heavy fusionoid rock with a King's X, low-end punch and an ELP "Barbarian"/"Knife Edge" noir-rock, fear/dread/threat groove. This stuff be PHAT!! Syncopated, thumpin', pumpin', and crunchin'. MacAlpine devastates all time-space continuums with his solos. Sherinian transports you into caverns of Pluto and buries your head in ice. Dorati pummels your aorta and cerebrum into submission whilst Tom Kennedy's bass lines would make Tony Levin or John Wetton drool. Jens Johansson has met his match with Derek Sherinian! If you dug Mastermind's EXCELSIOR! or just grabbed their new live PROG, FUSION, METAL, LEATHER and SWEAT, (conveniently named after a quote from my write-up of their NEARfest 1999 gig where the CD was recorded), you will REALLY dig the heavy fusion-rock of Planet X!! Dig it!! BUY THIS CD!! KILLER!! KILLER!! Etc, etc. . . ."

Months later, after sometimes playing this CD 10 � 15 times a week, I have yet to tire of its huge, dense, gut-punch. There are so many excellent prog metal, metal fusion, prog rock, rocky jazz fusionoid, and just plain butt-kicking rock things happening here. Sherinian and crew have broken the record for most riffs, solos, intricate unison lines, notes per minute, bars per song, and cool songs per CD. These guys are smokin'!

The music is intelligent, hard-hitting, in-your-face, and massive. There's little room to breathe, little time to get bored, and believe me � turn down your bass response on your CD player. I killed two car speaker woofers on this baby. I didn't care because the total devastation of my brain and my speakers was a fair price to experience this amazing onslaught of sound.

Some folks have whined in newsgroups as to Donati overdoing it on his endless double bass drum pummelings. I say, "Ah shaddap, and see if you can do that work of ceaseless power! He's amazing!" Man, just listen to all the effects and runs Sherinian is pulling out of his keyboard array. It is maddening! Kennedy is superb on bass, everywhere a threat of near perfection. Just listen to that great jazz solo breakdown on "Warfinger". MacAlpine plays exactly the way each song's moment needs. His interpretation of this fusion rock is powerfully poised. No flash, no sham, no weakness ? just raw superior power and finesse! Good grief ? he even does Holdsworthian riffs that actually rock your socks off! Must I go on? Of course.

My favorite tracks: "Europa", "Clonus", "Bitch", (IMHO: offensive song name guys, really), "Chocalate" and "2116".

My least favorite moment: The theatrically pompous and overly bombastic monologue/scene-setting intro on "King of the Universe" totally demolished the power and glory "flow" of the disc. It was 100% cheesy and its flaccidly flawed attempt to generate some sci-fi fantasy aura to the song fell flat on its face. I kept muttering to myself, "Oh please, get on with it. This guy's pseudo Shakespeare doth wound me so deeply."

Other than that small soliloquy snafu to be forgiven quickly, I highly regard and recommend this release as one of the best heavy progressive rock works of 2000. You weenies complaining about Donati's drums or MacAlpine's riffs need to try to do what they accomplish yourself. No way.

Update: The track I disliked, according to Derek, was intentionally supposed to be a "dig" at the pompousness of some progressive rock out there.

This CD represents a new, polymosaic of fusion in micro-evolution! I kept thinking of new coin-able phrases, buzz-words to hold this sound.

For example: dense fusion, black-hole fusion, aggressive fusion, cyber-warrior-caste fusion, angularly heavy fusion, Godzilla fusion . . . I think I like Godzilla fusion best. Why?

Derek, Virgil, and Tony are serving up way heavy, monstrous, dense, challenging, threatening, and excellently powerful fusion rock. There are some slow and flowingly easy moments but those are quickly devoured by whirlwind of notes, polyrhythmic rage, immense bass, and doomer speed-crunch axe. This is a warping, wall of fusion "noise" that requires cranking your brain up 4 or 5 notches to near 78rpm listening. Between Derek and Tony going insane in hyperdrive, fractal overload, unison lines and conversational soloing -- my bet is many folks will feel "disjointed" or pummeled into submission.

What keeps it all very organized is Donati's drums and the guest bassists providing a very interesting fusion rock groove throughout, a groove that provides a perfectly NON-disjointed foundation for all Derek and Tony's rail-gunnery and seek-and-destroy sonic ambushes.

I am gonna give this release a solid 9.3 out of 10 and that's only because I felt Tony needed to wail on fusion axe solos moreso and fills at least 10-15% more per track or at least be more present in the mix versus blended into much of Derek's superb synthwork. (I am an axe guy - so be it.)

After a good listen I have to disagree with any "disjointed" call. "Dense" is a much more accurate description.

Lastly, is this music or madness? It's a bit of both and that's exactly how I like it.

And I just don't like the metal.

I know it's only a matter of personal taste, but I wish that virtuosos like Sherinian, MacAlpine and Donati didn't waste their awesome talents on this type of music. I was hoping that they could excite me without venturing into metal territory, and many of the reviews I've read about Moonbabies and Planet X in general implied as much. I was misled; while there truly are some moments of inventiveness and excitement on this cd, the group ultimately relies too much on dumbing it down to prog metal cliches and shred, and too little on feeling.

I will just never understand why great musicians think that they have to play mind-bogglingly fast, up and down the classical scales, just to show that they can do it in odd time signatures at hyper-speed. I mean, I LOVE odd time signatures too, but show me that you also possess the creativity to invent a melody or unique rhythm figure at the same time (or different time, as the case may be!).

Here's a little analogy: If you're shivering outside at a winter carnival watching a chainsaw artist carve perfect geometric shapes (triangles, obelisks, polygons, etc...) out of blocks of ice in less than five minutes, you're initially impressed with his skill....but still left feeling cold. If that same guy took fifteen minutes longer to carve and shave the likeness of a swan or a Greek goddess, you'd feel warm inside at knowing that you had just witnessed the creation of something beautiful through the synthesis of great skill AND the expression of emotion...and I believe we call that "art". It's a subtle difference, but a critical aspect that's missing here on this cd.

So this review is just a warning for any other progressive music lovers out there who might think that this cd could be a nice diversion into jazz fusion or fast prog - it's not. This is for prog METAL enthusiasts only who are looking for something that leans into the jazz realm; it is modern, prog metal/fusion with little soul, scant melody, and no warmth. Personally, I just don't need it. "2-1/2 stars" for non-metal prog lovers.

Now, for a quick fix, I'm gonna listen to Rush's "Where's My Thing?"...

I found that album in "Live From Oz".

Whoa... Not only is this impressive stuff, but it's performed live at breakneck speed. I love the song selections for this set; they showcase Sherinian's compositional skill, and still manage to allow the band members to strut their talents. This is high energy, complex and thought-provoking. You'll spend a lot of time nodding your head to keep up with the odd meters... and shaking your head at the virtuosity of the players. Every one of them.

This is the album I've always hoped this group would produce. Other-worldly...

The downfall for this album for me is the first half of the album where the keyboards dominate at times with those synth-like sounds. I'm just not into them at all but starting with "Poland"( which I hope is a nod to Chris Poland) to the end I'm pretty impressed and that's the reason it's 3.5 stars and not just 3 stars. Holdsworth solos on track 2 and 4 and both are excellent of course, in fact "Desert Girl" the second tune is right there with the songs on the second half. "Poland" is my favourite track on here but the next three songs are right there with it.

Donati again shows why he one of the premier drummers on the planet, I'm so glad to have some of his solo work. The music on this album is complex but the synth-like keyboards leave me cold much of the time, I'm just not into them but when Derek creates atmosphere with those spacey sounds or when playing the piano I'm impressed big time. So a matter of tastes all the way and I'll stick with "Universe" which I played today for a comparison because I hadn't heard it in such a long time and thought maybe my tastes had simply changed since I last spent some time with it. Most by far feel "Quantum" is PLANET X's best album, I have to disagree.

MOON BABIES is the second release by PLANET X and continues the high velocity virtuosic venomous bite that will leave you gasping for air. While Sherinian and Donati are the official members of this band, on this release we get no fewer than three guest bassists including Billy Sheehan (Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr Big, Niacin, The Winery Dogs), Jimmy Johnson (James Taylor, Allan Holdsworth, Flim & the BB's) and Tom Kennedy.

The music experienced here is an instrumental sonic frenzy and is the epitome of complex music for complexity's sake but that doesn't mean it is devoid of moods, emotional triggers or atmospheres, it's just that those are not the primary focus. I personally am a fan of this kind of music if it is well constructed, well recorded and breathes some creativity into its lightning fast wankery. Generally speaking the bass is the grounding force for all the loose wires on board here. The general gist is to set up a musical platform for the guitar and keyboards to trade off ridiculously fast runs but Donati's rhythmic drumming can become as fast and complex as anything else on board here.

The first time i heard this i wasn't in the right mood and was put off by it but after a few spins and in the right frame of mind i was blown away and find this music exciting and energizing. Jazz-fusion of the highest quality here where Tony MacAlpine's lead guitar can range from placid Allan Holdsworth to the frenetic Steve Vai and back in a nanosecond. Good job guys. Gotta check out the other albums.

I kept trying to think if they remind me of anyone, but the closest I can come is Steve Vai crossed with Pat Metheny along with some awesome drumming and keyboards. Fave cut is "The Noble Savage" where some noodlings give way to a music that is dark and dynamic, with a locked in style for Tony and Derek.

This is music that is brings together progressive and jazz (while banging just lightly on the door of hard rock) in a way that is complex and complicated and in a fashion that can never be described as background. This is an acquired taste, and will definitely not be for everyone but twenty years after punk the dinosaurs are stirring again.

Originally appeared in Feedback #69, Aug 02