ECHOLYN

After hearing several times this first disk of the band Echolyn, some things were very clear ; - 1° In my opinion this disk deserves 5 stars. - 2° - few times I heard a combination of symphonic/ecletic/heavy prog music so well done . - 3° didn't get to identify with so much evidences (at least in this 1st work) a strong influence of any band in matter, actually I found influences of several bands as for instance YES, GENESIS, GENTLE GIANT, RUSH, etc..., however, these influences show up in a such discreet way that the band gets to create his own identity . The disk, in spite of these several soft influences, is very homogeneous without weak points. The tracks insert lyrical passages as in the track 3 "On Any Given Night" (a very symphonic ballad and full of emotion, mainly due to Brett Kull's guitar) with other, with more"euphoria" as the track 4 "Carpe Diem", a type of heavy-prog full of "swinging", and instrumental "ecstasy" moments as in the track 6 " Clumps of Dirt" a type of jam-session with score (if it is that such thing exists). In spite of having mentioned these tracks as example to illustrate my opinion, I put the other tracks in the same level. Although all of the musicians are excellent, it would like to emphasize the work of the guitarist Brett Kull a mixture (Steve Howe , Alex Lifesson and Mark Knopfler) and the excellent drummer Paul Ramsey!!! My rate (like I said before) is 5 stars!!!