A TIME BEFORE THIS

Wow, what a mind trip! I can't think of any other summary for this album, really. This is one of the strangest albums I've heard in a while, either musically or thematically. On top of that, the artwork is phenomenal!

Musically, "A Time Before This" is a mix of 70s prog and psychedelic rock. Everything sounds very spacey and or mysterious. The organ and flute solos are done quite well, and they are very mystical and fantastical in their presentation. The guitars have almost a hard Hendrix feel to them, though less technical. They certainly aren't the dominant instrument, as everything works really well together. The band plays really well off of each other. Also, some really strange song structures, such as on "The Coming of the Mule", complement the music seriously. Lastly, Cathy's vocals are female to the core: very powerful with a slightly hardened edge to them, but also somewhat faint in the mix. Much of the album is instrumental, but we are blessed with her interesting vocal style often enough.

The theme here is really weird. Just strange. We get to hear all about Altarra, the blue-skinned goddess/princess and the fantasy world in which she lives and rules. Now, I don't know about you, but I like fantasy and sci-fi. But this album seems more like an acid trip talking than a serious musician or author writing lyrics. The keyboardist, Julian Savarin, was a sci-fi author, and so he wrote this compelling work of fiction from his strange imagination. The funny thing is that they work. No matter how strange this album is, it works pretty well. I wouldn't call this a masterpiece. Maybe not even excellent. But I would call it a very strong 3 star album that is worth listening to soon.