CAPTIVES OF THE WINE DARK SEA

There is no doubt at all in mind that one of the most important bands to come out of America in the last thirty years has been Discipline. For some reason they have never seemed to gain the column inches that bands such as Spock's Beard and Enchant have been able to generate, but if I had to choose a band that was trying to do in America what VDGG achieved in the UK then it would be to Discipline I would turn. Founder, multi-instrumentalist and singer Matthew Parmenter is still very much at the helm, along with drummer Paul Dzendzel and bassist Mathew Kennedy, but founder guitarist Jon Preston Bouda is no longer involved, with his place being taken by Tiles guitarist Chris Herin. Obviously, this has had an impact on the overall sound, especially as that band are generally more straightforward melodic and rocky than Discipline, but Matthew still has a very firm hand on the arrangements and his piano underpins everything that is taking place.

This is only their second studio album in twenty years, but it's all about quality over quantity, and while it doesn't have quite the edginess or danger of some of their other albums, it is still very much a triumph. Chris understands his place within the band, and while Paul and Matthew Kennedy lay down the foundation it is very much linked in with the piano, from which Matthew Parmenter then takes the music in multiple directions. There is only one fairly lengthy song on here, the closer "Burn The Fire Upon The Rocks", but these guys don't need lots of time to push and pull the music in multiple directions. This is what progressive music is all about, moving into and across boundaries so that they aren't following any themes or styles but are very much their own band. That anyone playing them would never think for a minute that they were American shows just how diverse an adept these guys are. The more I play this, the more I discover, and the more I like it. It is an album I fell in love with the first time I played it, and I have grown to enjoy it even more since then! Essential.