BEWARE OF DARKNESS

This second album by Spock's Beard still bring me the same perception as SB has actually composed music with little uniqueness on their own sound. It seemed to me that their first three albums sound-alike with major influences from Gentle Giant (even though with less complex composition), Yes and Genesis. If I forget about this factor, actually Spock's Beard music is good only that they had taken many influences from great bands who were successful at that time. Nothing wrong with it as long as they can make it better not just merging many sounds from other bands. What is peculiar about this band is the voice quality of Neal Morse that is excellent, full with accentuation.

The Doorway is probably the best track in Spock's Beard history. It has catchy melodies, rough lyrics, a nifty little acoustic duet (which they extend in concert these days). Al's guitar playing quite aggressive and it flows with the music which har intermittent tempo changes. Ryo rocks on the Hammond, and his Mellotron parts add just a balanced melodrama. Dave's bass is excellent throughout the track and it sounds clear that Chris Squire (Yes) style has influenced him a lot. The Gentle Giant influence is quite obvious in this album especially "Thoughts". "Waste Away is a very straight-forward rock song.

Overall, the music is not really something that engaging the mind as the originality is becoming an issue. It's not exactly the same with legendary bands' music, however it's quite annoying, sometimes. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW