HYMN OF THE SEVENTH GALAXY

Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy ? 1973 (3.7/5) 12 ? Best Song: The Game Maker They fused together brilliantly with pop, and now with the onset of Al Di Meola as their first notable guitarist, we get to see the band fluidly melding with rock. Oh, I won't say that a guitarist is necessary to any given group, but in some cases it's essential to be worth a damn. For example, without the guitarists Judas Priest wouldn't be worth the gay paper it's printed on. So, in this case I was excited to see what a talented ax-man could do for a prominently established collection of super-professional performers. The greatest trade-off I saw was the total and complete lack of sincerity of sweetness in favor of aggression and snaked animosity. Everything's been taken up a notch. The guitars hum, rattle, and screech, while Chick Corea's playing has become a prototype for a lot of 1980's metal keyboard players (no, not Bon Jovi style?think Stratovarius or something). Although he trumps them all with his unpredictability and total disregard of neoclassicism. While Light as a Feather and the debut were quite similar to one another, this album's only connection to te previous two is in their purpose for playing. It's still to showcase their exotic, detailed abilities, but now they've gone from the Caribbean beaches and run off into the violently bestial jungles. 'After the Cosmic Rain' rocks indiscriminately. The only time they release the steam is with the ending cosmic 'The Game Maker'. Al adds a lot, but only in sound, not in style, and he rips powerfully. I quite enjoy this band.