CROSSING THE LINE

Asia Minor's debut seems to borrow from the more easygoing progressive rock bands, namely Camel, Eloy, and to an extent, Jehtro Tull. The music bounces between spacious atmospheres and disorderly rock. While the former is kinder to the ear, it has a tendency to get dull, as several passages throughout the album sound the same. Using the lead instruments (guitar, flute, and synthesizer) to fill out the music during the mellow, minimalistic verses might have been one solution. As it is, Crossing the Line is a satisfactory album that should please many fans of the aforementioned artists.

"Preface" With a gong, Asia Minor offers a foreboding bit of flute over distant, eerie chords. Heavy drums and guitar embark on some incoherent displays with the flute, both before and after the verse. The disjointed arrangement is very hard to follow- one must grin and bear it until the brief guitar solo ends the piece.

"Muhzun Gozler" That swampy guitar from before returns. Sliding bass notes give way to a decent flute excursion. There is no transition to speak of after this- the band essentially stops and begins playing a series of dark and frantic riffs before the flute comes back for seconds. The vocal section is light symphonic psychedelic music that bears a similarity to Eloy and Camel.

"Mystic Dance" Intriguing guitar and flute make up this terse instrumental.

"Misfortune" This frenzied piece reminds me of Jethro Tull during their most progressive years, with upbeat rhythms, gritty guitar, and plenty of flute to go around. It lacks in terms of composition, but makes up for it in fierceness.

"Landscape" Dark and low-key, "Landscape" relies on distant electric guitar and the mediocre vocals of the lead singer. Midway through, the music shifts to an unaccompanied electric piano before jumping into a erratic rock passage.

"Vision" "Vision" relies on a bass riff in 7/4 time, and has some great interplay between bass and guitar. The airiness and synthetic feel is a return to the sound of Eloy.

"Without Stir" Twelve-string guitar and harmonics weave a magical, concise song.

"Hayal Dolu Gunler Icin" This is very similar to most of the other songs here in terms of having that sparse, Eloy sound. The guitar solo over the breakneck rhythm is the most interesting aspect of it.

"Postface" Barely audible organ rises from the ether. The flute performs a theme from a previous piece before the fade out.