THE PASSING

Jacob ROBERGE releases his debut album, a sound inspired by Porcupine Tree, Styx, Harmonium, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Yes. A versatile musical prodigy. His participation in the TV show Star Académie solidifies his profile as a young prodigy.

"The Long Way Home" features a solemn piano arpeggio highlighting Jacob's voice; acoustic guitar, classical orchestration with its strings; a crystalline piano break before the wild finale; the guitar solo filled with emotion; the grandiloquent side of Barclay James Harvest at the crescendo. A rock ballad addressing the themes of homelessness and the precariousness of the future. "Empty Traces, Pt. 1" features a chilling piano arpeggio; the melting vocals exude emotion, beauty at its peak on a warm slow song. The Western guitar exudes a drop of emotion before the soaring. An emphatic guitar solo throws the audience into disarray before giving voice to the reverberating guitar. "Garden of Souls" syncopated pad over a juice of melting notes; the distant vocal is ethereal, languid, and nostalgic, somewhere between a ballad and a nursery rhyme from the ends of the earth over a volley of violins. The vocal carries the listener to an overdone melodic track where her suave voice floats; backing vocals and the heavy riff make this piece explode. The soft, warm keyboard, the heavy riff with the organ in the background, a pure moment of regression. "Petrichor" solemn piano and majestic vocal, definitely a plus; a jazzy air that evolves into an Andalusian mid- tempo. Slowness and redundancy in a form of musical wandering. The solo trumpet with voiceovers is unsettling; a minimalist piano break, acoustic guitar releasing concentrated emotion, eyeing the captivating lines of MEER. The soaring vocal finale with the guitar solo provoking reflection and contemplation. "Empty Traces, Pt. 2" warm piano, a departure from SAGA's "Generation 13." Jacob inundates us with his distinctive, angelic voice. A syrupy ballad launching the admirable guitar solo, then the progressive variation via a pad. The chorus builds to STYX, and the guitar resumes, rising higher, shivering. An ethereal, solemn, and icy finale with Mercury-esque piano.

"The Passing" begins grandiloquently, solemnly, and symphonically; I find the soul of a Genesis-esque ANGEL, the orchestral sound worthy of DREAM THEATER, the madness of Neal MORSE with his brilliant fingering of the guitar solo for the transition from life to death. The five-minute intro holds the stage, the best of the year. The ambient space arrives, the vocals laid over BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST again, a musical moment between classical and rock, a warm passage full of emotion before the explosion. The bass break with neo-classical violins and cellos. You have to reach the first third to have a semblance of a chorus followed by a progressive drift with the drums as a catalyst. The jazzy space with the piano, the fat guitar solo then the explosion, everything is melancholic, ethereal, everything is majestically interpreted. These five stages of mourning navigate between classical, heavy rock and musical maestra with diverse rhythms and styles. The last third takes a Yessian turn with this grandiloquent detour, a Crimsonian passage with WETTON's voice before going on to fleshy heavy rock that would make many prog metal bands shudder. The solemn finale with southern western guitar, the soaring string instruments finish hitting the listener. The track of the year. We'll talk about it again in December.

Jacob ROBERGE, thunderous classical music supercharged with energetic rock; a classical-rock fusion that takes us far into varied symphonic spaces where twists and turns follow one another seamlessly. A very good album, easy to access and gradually captivating.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to alainPP
• Report this review (#3169568)
• Buy JACOB ROBERGE music online with PA partners
• Show all JACOB ROBERGE MP3/Stream
• Go to JACOB ROBERGE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Passing page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for JACOB ROBERGE related discussions