CLINOPHOBIA

Devil's Slingshot

Progressive Metal

2.54 | 13 ratings

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The T
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

I'm not sure whether this is very good prog-rock or actually just elevator prog. The more I listen to "Clinophobia" the more I'm leaning towards the second explanation.

The music on this cd falls under the category of progressive-metal with some hints of jazz- fussion, exclusively instrumental. There are no voices on this record. Everything is played by the three renowned instrumentalists that form DEVILS SLINGSHOT. With performers of this level, we should expect a mind-blowing release.

Sadly, as with many "supergroups", DEVILS SLINGSHOT ultimately disappoints. The music in "Clinophobia" is somewhat generic, lacks energy, and it even scarcely exploits the skills of the musicians. This is rock/metal played with little energy, with really mundane riffs, without spark, without life. We were expecting fantastic combinations of musical prowess but we are left with music that sounds like a generic version of better projects like BOZZIO, LEVIN, STEVENS. The guitar doesn't do anything remotely unique and at times it can't decide whether to go all-metal or jazzy; the melodies and riffs are anything but memorable; there are some odd and interesting time signatures at play but they seem to exist just for the sake of it, they are never really developed to their full potential; Sheehan on bass has his moments but in general goes very unnoticed (actually, the best bass passage in the entire record is not even played by him but by Bunny Brunel in "Hourglass".) Donati has a couple of good ideas (like the intro on "Flame"") but ends up playing it too safely, barely managing to remind us why he's regarded as a legendary drummer.

All in all, a weak effort, if we can even use that last word. It seems these three gifted legends decided to take a break from their rutines and record an album in the process. It sounds like that: a vacational album. Perfect for the elevator of a theoretical prog-hotel.

For the competent playing I can't give this album anything lower than two, but the lack of great ideas and the blandness of execution stop me from going any higher.

The T | 2/5 | 2009-5-25

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