THE WAIT OF GLORY

After reaching their apparent pinnacle with album "Before Became After" I confess I stayed a bit concerned if "The Wait Of Glory" should be able to achieve the same status. Well, in the beginning TWoG said little to me but when the number of spins started to show its effect things also started to change for me.

Here, PROTO-KAW lost a bit of that rawness state that got me completely; but after several hearings I realized how good the songs were and how well produced this album was. Noticeable is that they seem happy doing this work, with brand new songs and certainly sipping joyfully the positive critics related to their previous output.

'Nevermore' starts the album in a grand manner, those initial sound effects brings reminiscences of old times - the hunter before his prey. Soon, when singing begins we are presented by some soft vocals rivaling with nice flute tunes and a splendid overall atmosphere. Solo parts get more nervous, frenzy, taking us out of the indolence just to appreciate it, the transitions guitar/keyboards are pure progressive.

'Relics of the tempest' is another great song, that flute in the intro is enchanting, to say the least. Meredith's vocals are superb but the band effort is amazing. Does someone know a song you can listen to many times without becoming weary?

'When the rain comes' completes the opening triad of high-quality songs, in all aspects. Up to now the listener is gifted with 22-plus minutes of jaw-breaking music. If wished one could turn off the player and say: enough of marvels, now it's time for dreaming. The good news: there's more!

'On the eve of the great decline' don't let things down, the set of jewels still shine. Here's a great lesson how a symphonic prog short song must be: meaningful in the correct dosing to take the maximum advantage of the exiguous time. 'Physic' with its funk approach is catchy and funny; good brass action here. Later the song evolves to kind of Latin tunes, very interesting and agreeable. 'At morning's gate' is probably the catchiest song in the album roster but even so done in the most honest way one could suppose.

'Melicus Gladiator' brings echoes of the first three songs - with its complex arrangements and crude vocals. The massive attack of great tunes paves the way for the next song, the poignant 'The vigil', a soft hymn-like track full of nice tunes and variations that gathers the attention in the entirety of its 7 minutes. 'Old number 63' returns to the funk beat, including a rap-esque section. Rap? Well, that's how I felt it and if rap songs were like this, I wouldn't mind hearing hundreds of them.

'Osvaldo's groceries', an instrumental piece, is really pleasant but I believe that the exquisite song intro should be better exploited. 'Picture this' is another typical PK song with its different tempos, soothing vocals and fine instrumentation. 'One fine day' ends originally the album in the highest astral level - enjoyable singing and playing to close things rightly.

From the bonus tracks that appeared in the DVD, I'd like to spot the catchy 'Words of honor', a song recorded with all elements needed to be a radio-friendly although I don't know if it really happened in North America.

One final word: I tried to evaluate TWoG tracks in the same manner I originally heard them, it means, with few information about the lyrics, since I have a certain difficulty to pick up the American accent. So, I concentrate my views mainly in the music, although later I discovered that lyrics are great too.

Not a masterpiece, but really essential.