SORROW AND PROMISE

Divine In Sight is not quite to Rush as Starcastle is to Yes. But let's just say that if we had an entire genre devoted to "Rush-inspired" music, this band would be at the top of my list. All the surface similarities are here. They are a guitar, bass and drums trio. The bass is crisp, punchy and up high in the mix. Both guitarists proudly display a musical Rush influence on their sleeves as a badge of honor.

But there is much more here than first meets the eye. The 12+ minute opening track ("Black River") strikes a more grandiloquent tone than even the most epic of Rush songs. There is a dramatic, even operatic factor at work here. The songs all fit into a coherent concept storyline. Rush has done album sides (2112, Hemispheres) but never a sustained storyline of this scope and magnitude.

This band has thespian ambitions. Indeed, they have been pouring years of blood, sweat and tears into a new 2 CD package named "O Nox Ultima: The Redemption of Antonius Carthaginius".

Vocals are in the upper register but without any trace of any classic era Geddy screech. These vocals are smooth ? ultra smooth. The harmonies are sweet.

Starcastle sometimes grabbed a bass riff from one Yes song and combined it with another keyboard approach from another song? a sort of "cut and paste" approach to flattery by imitation. I don't hear very much of that approach here. While there are striking similarities in tone, timber and arrangement, by and large the compositions are uniquely "Divine In Sight".

If you consider 2112 a masterpiece of Prog, and you don't mind a band sounding a bit like classic era Rush, you owe it to yourself to check out this album.

Very good and highly recommended. Not quite original enough to earn a 4th star on their debut album - but a solid "3 stars" is a very good rating in my book.