UNDER THE SUN

I can easily see why this album would appeal to Kansas fans as Under the Sun really do sound like vintage Kansas. That's not to say that they are a pure clone, far from it. I wouldn't call these guys prog-metal, they are actually more art rock and at times even a little symphonic prog. You can also hear influences like the Talking Heads, the Police (especially on Perfect World) and jazz/fusion.

You know Terry Brown had an influence on this recording when you listen to the bass line for Gardens of Autumn. If the sound of the bass guitar doesn't make you recall Geddy Lee from Rush, I don't know what would. Kurt Barabas was the musician that first caught my attention with his fluid bass lines. He has a fusion-esque style that I really like and has a couple of really great runs on From Henceforth Now and Forever that show his great deal of skill and talent. The drummer makes excellent usage of all his cymbals to add great high end texture to the songs. I've always had a deep respect for drummers that know how to really work the cymbals. In fact, all of the instrumentation is both very good technically and diversely interesting at the same time. The songs are well composed and I really don't hear any filler material. I really like Seeing Eye God because it is a strange, funky tune that's actually a lot of fun.

I'd really recommend this album to people that liked vintage Kansas. I may not a big fan of Kansas myself, but I really do like this album a lot. It was definitely worth the $13 and I can only hope that they put out more material in the future.