CHRYSALIS

Man on Fire has been around since 1999, and even though they've been around for 12 years they're still putting out great material. To be honest, I'd never heard of this band before I got their newest CD, but I'm glad I did. This album has definitely made a cause to look into this bands back catalog too. One of the great things about this album is that they integrated awesome horn sections into the typical prog rock sound.

Chrysalis reminds me a lot of earlier Spock's Beard, and that is great. I love Spock's Beard, so anything that sounds like them is a huge plus. This album also has an eclectic side to it that is shown throughout the album. The fretless bass, played by Eric Sands, is absolutely amazing and adds a jazzier sound to the album. The guitar work on this album is also very good especially on "In A Sense". Another thing this album has going for it is the four part epic, "Chrysalis", which encompasses a bunch of musical genres. It ranges from rock, to jazz, and even some Motown all wrapped together into one epic. This album also comes with a second, one song epic titles "Gravity". "Gravity" is by far the most impressive track on the album, and really shows the immense amount of talent in this group. The keyboards to open it up are absolutely superb and mix very well with the drums later on to make a sort of funk groove. The organ and synth in this song remind me a lot of Spock's Beard, like I said earlier.

This release is definitely one of the best prog rock albums of 2011, and yet another great one from 10T Records. Even though it tops out at just below an hour, it never gets boring and keeps bringing new ideas and rhythms to the table that really add to the overall feel of the album. Chrysalis is definitely worthy of 4 stars.