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Glass Hammer - Dreaming City CD (album) cover

DREAMING CITY

Glass Hammer

Symphonic Prog

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rdtprog
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Heavy, RPI, Symph, JR/F Canterbury Teams
4 stars From the spacey intro vibe of the first song and the heavy guitar part, I was surprised to realize this was an album of Glass Hammer. Then we are treated with a nice bass break that can only come from Steve Babb, but where are Fred's keys, oh yes then I hear them at the end in this fast pace song. This album that can only listen in one take without skipping a song is heavier and less symphonic. The band decided to get back to their early influences of Rush, Jethro Tull, and Tangerine Dream. There are more spacey prog passages and a classic rock feel where the band sticks to a more direct approach with the guitars having a sound that is more on the raw side than usual. The song "Pagarna" has some clear Rush influence with the typical guitar solo at the end. The band uses the flute and some nice acoustic guitar when they want to slow things down. Overall the keyboards on this album have taken a step back with occasional appearance letting the bass and the guitars the lead. The band has taken a chance here with their new direction. but I am glad they did after releasing too many albums of that same genre in the last decade. This a well-balanced album with some driven rock songs, some peacuful ballads and some dreamy electronic interludes.
Report this review (#2353462)
Posted Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | Review Permalink
RFAPROG
5 stars Dreaming City is a masterpiece. What are my rules for determining that? Dreaming City is both music and literature. To REALLY experience Dreaming City I had to look(at the lyrics), listen(to the lyrics and music) and receive it. Basically I had to choose to get myself out of the way and surrender to what Glass Hammer was presenting to determine if this was a masterpiece and again, it is. Allowing my senses and imaginations to be led without my preconceived expectations by the musicians of Glass Hammer allows the freedom of what they want to bring forth have its full impact on me. Glass Hammer has a message in Dreaming City that they want us to receive so we must surrender to receive it or it becomes lost and we don't experience it for the masterpiece it is. When we don't surrender then we use the literature and music to meet our need. Not saying that is wrong. I'm just saying to really see Dreaming City for the masterpiece it is I urge one to look, listen, receive, and surrender to what they want you to experience. I won't share my experience because then it might taint somebody else's. Many thanks to Glass Hammer for continuing to produce what I believe to be masterpieces of prog year after year after year. RFAPROG
Report this review (#2353915)
Posted Thursday, April 23, 2020 | Review Permalink
A Crimson Mellotron
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Fantastic stuff here, not too many contemporary symphonic prog albums manage to be so enjoyable and intriguing, both fun and intricate, crossing effortlessly back and forth between different genres just in the span of an hour, all of this has to be in the essence of progressive rock, on full display on Glass Hammer's 2020 studio release titled 'Dreaming City', a concept album that serves as the first part of the so-called Skallagrim trilogy, a sci-fi opus that sees the Tennessee-native band go real heavy, while maintaining their melodicism and lush presentation.

Masterminds and multi-instrumentalists Steve Babb (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Fred Schendel (keyboards, guitars, vocals) deliver an enviable collection of twelve songs that should be endeavored in one take since most of them transition into one another, ideally making up the aforementioned first installment of the story, joined by drummer Aaron Raulston, among several other vocalists that appear throughout the LP. 'Dreaming City', the band's eighteenth studio recording opens up with the hard-rocking riff of the glorious title track with vocals by Babb, just to display this myriad of styles that the collective goes through throughout the entire duration of the album - symphonic rock is omnipresent, of course being the frame for the sound of Glass Hammer as well as throbbing hard rock, 70s style, with raging keyboards and mind-blowing solos, perhaps reminiscent of some early Uriah Heep or the virtuosic playing of someone like Jon Lord; there is a strong Rush influence in some sections, some sprinkles of Tull-tinted sections featuring lovely flutes, entire tracks that worship the sequencing magic of a band like Tangerine Dream, among other things. Such a pleasant, vibrant album, full of different sounds and moods, the bass tone of Steve Babb is quite impressive, the keyboards are incredible, the guitars are also great, then there are the several vocalists that all do a lovely job.

No bad songs on here, also keeping in mind the fact that they should be heard together, in the context of the album. The music is awesome, the band have their grip on the 'progressive' aspect of it all strongly, and present a surprisingly heavy side that is also very welcome and suits them finely. Some highlights would be (apart from the title track) 'Cold Star', the rocking 'Pagarna', the electronica of 'At the Threshold of Dreams', the melancholic 'This Lonely World', the gorgeous songs 'A Desperate Man' and 'The Key'.

Straightforward, impressive, proggy, catchy, emotional, it seems like 'Dreaming City' has it all, an excellent album that I already consider a classic of modern progressive rock.

Report this review (#2781170)
Posted Monday, August 1, 2022 | Review Permalink

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