THE OBLIVION PARTICLE

'The Oblivion Particle' is the twelfth studio album by Spock's Beard, the American prog rock veterans, as well as their second with former Enchant vocalist Ted Leonard, a versatile musician and a great singer who has as of now proved to be a tremendous addition to the SB lineup. Now, this 2015 offering from the band is one of the more difficult albums to review because it happens to be one of the more eclectic and unconventional releases by Spock's Beard ever - this, of course, makes perfect sense as a band who has reached thus far in their career can certainly afford to put out such an album, unpredictable and definitely diverging from what you would expect them to record, even if some key sounds are present, the overall flow of the compositions is very intricate, tightly produced and takes several listens to fully appreciate.

We must by all means, however, attribute the musical direction of 'The Oblivion Particle' to the presence of outside writers, in the face of long-time songwriting collaborators John Boegehold and Stan Ausmus, collectively credited with six of the nine album tracks. On top of that, the album has been mixed by Rich Mouser and produced by him and members of the band, which results in what could be summed up as a really strong and varied producer's album. Slightly less joyous and energetic than previous releases, 'The Oblivion Particle' has a genre-less touch to it, the songs unfold somewhat methodologically, as the bands treads on some new ground. The use of effects and a range of different instruments adds another interesting layer to the album, which is neither 'The Light', nor 'Feel Euphoria', it is an entity of its own that will probably take some time to fully understand. Enjoyable tracks like 'Minion' and 'Bennett Built a Time Machine' counteract the dense and intricate sounds of 'A Better Way to Fly' and 'To Be Free Again'. Full of fantastic vocals, stellar production and overall very strong playing, often really technical, this is an interesting album but a more difficult listen, definitely an odd entry in the SB back catalogue.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to A Crimson Mellotron
• Report this review (#3138923)
• Buy SPOCK'S BEARD music online with PA partners
• Show all SPOCK'S BEARD MP3/Stream
• Go to SPOCK'S BEARD page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Oblivion Particle page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for SPOCK'S BEARD related discussions