THE PROG COLLECTIVE: DARK ENCOUNTERS

Here we have the third album in three years from the project put together by Billy Sherwood in 2012. Yet again he has provided a lot of the music himself and then brought in loads of guests, with only Rick Wakeman credited on more than one track, where he plays with Nektar on one and Todd Rundgren on the other. Billy only credits himself as soloist on one song, and for the rest we get Steve Stevens, Steve Morse, David Cross, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Patrick Moraz & Omar Hakim, Kasim Sulton, Frank Dimino & Marco Minnemann, John Etheridge, Steve Hillage & Gregg Bissonette, Todd Sucherman, Joe Bouchard, Pat Mastelotto, Chad Wackerman. I have never been a huge fan of this type of album, which were so beloved by some labels back in the Nineties, and while I admit I enjoyed Billy's last one, 'Seeking Peace', it must be said that this is not at the same level.

Part of that may be due to the musical style, as this takes a deliberate turn toward a more brooding and melancholic musical path, filled with ambient and eerie melodic passages, and for some reason it feels very middle of the road. Some of the soloists, especially Steve Stevens and Steve Morse, take the opportunity to show exactly what they can do and definitely stand out, which in many ways also does not help in the overall feel as this comes across way more as a project and far less of a cohesive whole. Even Dimino seems strangely subdued and given I have been a fan of Angel for more than 40 years I was very much looking forward to his contribution but was disappointed. This is a pleasant album which will undoubtedly have its fans, but for me there is far more exciting stuff out there to discover.