OCTANE

Well, having read some of the reviews here I felt inclined to give my opinion-does anybody else feel there are some mixed opinions here? When Neal left the band, I initially thought how the hell are Spocks Beard going to continue without him? I left 'Feel Euhporia' alone, I didnt know whether I was going to dissapoint myself or not, so went back to listening such classic albums as 'The Light', and 'Beware of Darkness'. However, upon hearing about 'Octane' I thought of taking a break from The Flower Kings and decided to give Spocks Beard their place back in my heart. My initial reaction to listening to the first track was as I expected-they moved away from their old days. After sitting down thinking 'should I listen on? What am I going to expect?' I thought lets be honest, surely they had to? How could they carry on playing pre-Feel Euphoria without Neal? Lets give this album a shot... And im very happy I did. After 'I wouldnt let it Go' I started to get used to this New Spocks Beard. Nick was better than I expected stepping into the front mans shoes. Then 'Surfing Down the Avalanche' hits you bang in the face. The riffs are kinda angry (Spocks Beard, angry? Bearing in mind I havent heard Feel Euphoria yet), the tempo changes are just right, a thoroughly enjoyable track. But then 'She is Everything'. I fell in love with this song when I first heard it, its a lovely prog ballad. nick performs it ever so well, the tune just flows along wonderfully, and the band I feel put all their heart and soul into this one. If youre in love with someone, this is one of those songs which reminds you of why you fall in love in the first place. Back into the swing of things,'Climbing up that Hill' comes on. You fall out of your coma from 'She is Everything' and your back on the road with this fairly simple, but enjoyable song. I will not review the rest of the tracks because I think you have to make your own opinion on what hear from there. The only thing I will say is that after hearing the whole album, 'As Long As We Ride' reminds you how much you enjoy rock, and especially how much you enjoy Spocks Beard. Ar, the CD's finished...hang on, was that Spocks Beard? Wow, yeah it was! Im not dissapointed. I can listen to that again. And I will :D And d o you know what? I went out and bought Feel Euphoria and thoroughly enjoyed that too. Thumbs up from me for the New Spocks Beard. I can see where some people got dissapointed, but come on people-if you really do enjoy the power of the Beard, give this a chance. I thought I wasn't going to like it and indeed I was unsure at first but I'm so happy I gave it a chance. If this is your first Spocks album, you may want to get Feel Euphoria next, get used to this and that before moving to thier old stuff-its a lot different so brace yourself, but Im sure you'll enjoy it as much as we do. The Beard sitll have my support, and as much as miss the old sound, the new sound is just as enjoyable. Now remember to turn 'As Long As we Ride' up as loud as you can, rock on peoples! Matty :)