SKALLAGRIM: INTO THE BREACH

I'm not writing this as a professional or snobbish critic but as a long time GH fan. The first project I heard of them was Lex Rex and I have enjoyed the many facets of the creativity of the Babb and Schendel show.

One of the things that can irritate me about reading reviews, and in particular most of the reviews of GH indicate they sound like something or someone else. Lets address this - apart from the occasional Yes, ELP, Rush, Genesis, etc that come out with a unique sound -- there are relatively few of these "master" artists in each era. We were incredibly blessed (those my age) to have gone through that era of progressive rock from the 60's and 70's. But make no mistake, that kind of music existed, just not in the rock n roll catalog. They all cut their teeth on classical music and transmutated it into rock n roll and it became its own genre. That doesn't happen very often.

I enjoyed the "Yes" era of Glass Hammer more than any Yes album they produced after Tormato (lol yes I actually liked that one). GH had a love for that early Yes sound, had the chops, had the right singer - so why not? I loved, and still love Secret through Perilous.

Does this project have hints/tints of other bands? I'm sure it does, but I for one don't go into a project looking to critique it, and pick it apart for what it sounds like, and examine every verse, chorus and meter for how clever it is. Its just like a new movie - I have probably seen the basic plot a thousand times but I still go to that movie wanting to be entertained. I could ruin (probably 99% of all movies) it for myself and everyone else if I really wanted to.

Let me say, as a fan and music lover of almost all types - I absolutely love this latest project of GH. I got it early and have been listening to it every day since. It has a hard rock edge yet stays melodic; it is dark but whispers hope; it has a story that I am invested in, has a surprise twist to it (at least for the die hard GH fans), and I am very interested in how this tale will unfold in the third installment of the trilogy. I honestly could care less if it sounds like anything else - I am enjoying it as its own work very, very much. With the state of art and culture today - where I cannot bear to listen to more than 30 seconds of what is America's top choices for "music," this band and project is well worth supporting in a small $15 investment.

I think that GH just keeps getting better - and I am very happy they are producing fantastic prog rock for us to enjoy practically every year (14 full length projects in 18 years!). Thank you Steve, Fred, Aaron, and new member Hannah, I appreciate and love Skallgrim!!

PS - what a find with the new vocalist -- WOW.

Peace -