THE WHIRLWIND

The year is 2007. Through Dream Theater, I discover a supergroup called Transatlantic, made up of Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Pete Trewavas (Marillion), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), and Neal Morse (Spock's Beard). I am stunned by their musicianship and their ability to make insanely long songs (over 30 minutes) but keep them fresh enough to sustain full listens time and time again. They were my first exposure to long-form songs, and what better place to start?

The year is 2003. Neal Morse, keyboardist and frontman of Transatlantic finds God and pursues an incredible solo career where he keeps flexing his prog muscle while keeping his music religiously-themed. Sounds bad on the surface, but his music is as good as ever. Unfortunately, this leads to the permanent disbanding of Transatlantic. When I read this after discovering the band, I was incredibly disappointed. I was so blown away by the two albums they put out (not to mention some of the best live albums ever recorded), I felt it was real selfish for Neal to screw things over for a supergroup that had such an amazing sound.

The year is 2009. Neal Morse changes his mind and Transatlantic gets back together, and not only that, they are putting out a new album by year's end that contains ONE 77-minute song entitled The Whirlwind.

I never thought I would ever hear anything new from these guys. I've never been happier to be wrong. Transatlantic are, in my opinion, not only one of the best supergroups of all time, but the closest thing to modern day Beatles that we'll ever get. I feel like they are what the Beatles would be if they continued on the path they set for themselves with Abbey Road.

So after all this time, have Transatlantic come back from what seemed to be a permanent end and taken back their crown? In a word: Yes. The Whirlwind is not only one of the most ambitious symphonic albums I've ever listened to, but a truly glorious revival that matches their previous work while all at once branching out in exciting new directions. It's at once both familiar and totally different, channeling the sounds of all four bands the band members occupy. It's essential listening for prog fanatics and one of the most exciting and surprising listens in a year that's already been full of truly brilliant music. To put it bluntly - The Whirlwind is a masterwork.

The Whirlwind is broken up into an album's-worth of movements, but presented as one staggering 77-minute song. Thankfully, Transatlantic retained the one trait I've always loved most about them - The ability to make long songs a breeze to listen to. They have a beautiful sound that makes the time pass like few others. The same is especially true for The Whirlwind, which is easy to listen to despite its daunting runtime. It's a testament to these four geniuses skills as musicians to be able to craft something so coherent (not to mention in such a small amount of time).

There isn't a single wasted measure, and the highlights are scattered all over the place. The opening movement (Overture / Whirlwind) is a smashing intro to the piece, and if you've ever heard any other Transatlantic material, you'll feel right at home here. It's very familiar-sounding, but as soon as the vocals kick in, you know you're in for something different. Instead of Morse taking the mic as usual, it's Stolt! Excellent! Morse comes back shortly, of course, but Stolt sets up the mood of this piece very well. Everything retains its familiarity until the fourth movement, A Man Can Feel, which immediately shifts gears into something totally different. It sounds like something straight out of The Flower Kings' library, and is a welcome change of pace.

From here until the final movement, Transatlantic explores musical avenues that they never have before. Previously, they were always given flak for employing a very Neal Morse-esque sound and not really utilizing the strengths of the other band members. Now, Transatlantic finally finds their own sound with The Whirlwind. The interplay between these four geniuses is fantastic, and trumps everything they've ever done prior to this. Roine Stolt has a commanding presence on this record, giving the band's sound a more unique flair that you'd be hard-pressed to find these days. In particular, Pete Trewavas is responsible for writing a majority of this record, and throws down a lot of excellent basslines. He's clearly making up for lost time, not having nearly as much creative freedom in Marillion to flex his obviously great musical muscle. It's just so good, people. Everything falls into place like a game of Tetris.

One of the final and more emotionally-charged movements is entitled "Is it Really Happening?" I found myself asking the same question when listening to The Whirlwind. I never thought I'd hear these guys perform as one unit again, and I never thought such a monumentally huge song would be so great to listen to. I've tried listening to plenty of enormous songs from other bands (some of which these guys are members of) and nothing even comes close to this. There is a lot to love about The Whirlwind, but the biggest thing I love about it is that it means one of my favorite musical acts is back from the dead, and haven't lost, but GAINED skill, ambition, and creativity.

I was careful not to just simply toss this album at the top of my list as a reactionary move. I gave this album about 15 spins before I threw it at the top of the list. 20 more would solidify its position as not only the best album of this year, but one of the best symphonic prog albums I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. This album is head and shoulders about the rest of this year's output, and that's saying something. This was a year filled with truly divine music, and I never thought for a second that this seemingly rushed Transatlantic album would be anywhere near the top, especially after being completely floored by Mastodon, which held the top spot until a month ago when this piece of prog gold dropped from the sky.

Mike, Pete, Neal, and Roine: It's great to have you back. Thank you for this wonderful album.