SKYWARD

A new outfit based out of Detroit is showing progressive rock is alive and well today. While they don't explore any new ground(who does anymore?) they create some of the best progressive sounds that we epitimize the genre with today. The music here is complex, dark and sinister and all the while being a bit tongue in cheek as well. This music is for anyone who loves Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and Rush. I cannot urge you enough to pick up this gem.

The cd opens up with Vector which is an instrumental. The sound here will not overwhelm your prog senses as it is a more hard driving(almost heavy metal) straight forward beat. It does have some interesting moments in the middle, but overall this tune will not wow any listener, nor will it annoy ya either though.

State of the Art of Love Song is a quirky, amusing song about androids and robots and such. This song isn't very adventurous either and almost seemed to be included in here just for the off chance that this one might recieve some radio play. Thankfully it is relatively short and doesn't have the opportunity to get under the listeners skin.

From this point forward the cd becomes near perfect. The 3rd song begins with the 1st of three long suites. Transcendance(Culture of Hospice) will take the listener on a near 15 minute joyride of pure prog. Yes influences abound everywhere on this song while having a dark, cynical web being spun around the listeners ears...lyrics like "lying wide awake, anxious for a coma" best sums up what this song is about.

The epic song Milwaukee is the strongest and darkest of all the tunes on this cd. Here they bust out a plethora of influences to launch a sonic assault on the listeners ears including Rush, Yes, Genesis as well as some heavy metal licks to boot! The song will shackle you into the nightmarish scenes of a captive of a psycho who is about to perform some grisly act(s) on the listener. All good twisted, perverted fun as we are spiralled helplessly through this hellish joyride of sonic ecstacy.

Cul-de-Sacs of Venus is another instrumental which guest-stars Mathew Parmenter on violin. This is a beautiful song which is a fitting stark contrast to the sinister Milwaukee.

The last of the three long suites is Voyager which concludes this cd nicely. This one has heavy influences of Genesis and Yes all over it. Words are few and music is aplenty on this excellent track about Lonliness!

If this cd could have been more original, and if the singer was a tad better this would have been a masterpiece. It is still a great 1st attempt and I am looking forward to see what Acuity has in store for their next cd. I recommend this to everyone but especially those who like Yes and Genesis as well as anyone who loves their music extremely dark!