EVOLUTION

SPACED OUT is the Canadian answer to PLANET X!From this statement it has to begin this review to an album that marks,definitelly, a step ahead to a band composed by some unbelieveble talented musicians!The instigator of this project,the band leader is the monster bass player ANTOINE FAFARD,one of the most spectacular and impressive musicians in today's world,surrpunded y the excellent drummes MARTIN MAHEUX and the atomig guitarero MARK TREMBLAY!A "killer trio,partners in crime "helped this time by ALEX ARGENTO ,a great keyboard player from Italy. !Each SPACED OUT album was a brick to the foundation to build a very solid band,which has a little problem concening the compositions!Sometimes isn't enough to be a monster of technique ,to compose a real song ,with personality and identity seems more difficult than to brilliantly perform at instruments!The prog fusion delivered is in the vein of PLANET X,the Canadian band SPACED OUT propose us some outstanding moments of pure musical wizzardry.BIOMECHANIC,the opening song is like a HELLO!WE'RE BACK with a vengeance!Sometimes we feel that the agressivity of the SPACED OUT compositions is made this way for bringing humiliation to other bands or artists in this style.Of course,to get here needs many hours of practice ,but also a gift from God called native talent.What really miss is the human touch,the feeling of some emitional coomposition and the flood of notes that are invading us ,gives the feeling tahat maybee IT'S TOO MUCH!All songs are very complex musical structures and the technical aspect prevails,hardly we find the componistic basic idea.I feel that some tracks are based on jams and the momentary inspirational mood of each musician!Honestly,in today's music only PLANET X seem to have the technical qualities to be considered rivals of SPACED OUT! SPACED OUT is jazz rock prog fusion on steroids!!! 4 STARS for technique!

Spaced Out's 5th studio album sounds just like it's cover, like some sort of mysterious misunderstood leviathan cautiously creeping from a deep slumber. Evolution's fire-breathing atmospheric fusion stylings on this, their fifth album, are saturated with mindboggling combinations of dark bass melodies, harmonizations, polyrythms, manic double kick drumming, angry synths and screaming guitars. Definitely not dinner music or music for elevators even though the CD booklet notes suggest otherwise.

This is a dangerous album that doesn't let up for one nano second. After discovering their 2003 album Slow Gin, I thought to myself "well, this is it. The final plateau in fusion has finally been crossed, I can throw in the towel and move on with my life". I was so wrong when the next monstrosity, Unstable Matter, appeared in 2006 followed by this 2008 crontrivance. Even though all the music ( as on previous Spaced Out albums ) was composed, arranged and written by Université de Montréal music graduate and bass maestro Antoine Fafard, on Evolution all the parts were distributed to the individual players, Marc Tremblay ( guitar ), Marc Maheux ( drums ) Éric St. Jean ( keyboards ) and Alex Argento ( keyboards ) and recorded separately with the resulting frankenstein being a testimony to the massive talent that is present here. Spaced Out's is so difficult to categorize that even Fafard himself has difficulty defining it himself calling it " everything-but-the-kitchen-sink " type music. I've heard it referred to as prog metal, metal fusion as well as a number of other hybrids. Whatever it is it ignores all musical conventions.

The two most down to earth tracks( if you can call them that ) are Octavium and Replication Junction are the closest that the album comes to " traditional " jazz / rock fusion but are still what jazz purists nightmares are made of. My personal favourite is the furious " Furax II " that features some spectacular double handed bass tapping from Fafard that gives way to more conventional lines and then more insane double handed bass tapping . It is also the heaviest & most metallisque track on the album that features guitarist Tremblay at the top of his game with some crazy shredding. " Nemesis " is also along these lines with a ca. 1970s Chick Corea-like keyboard solo from Éric St Jean who has been with Fafard since the beginning of Spaced Out. All the instrumental tracks have cool abstract names that are one way in another tied into the general theme of growth and progress.

The only reservation I would have about the album would be that, even though it is well structured compositionally wise it tends to go off the deep end on the technical side at times. Just a bit ( sarcasm ). If you haven't checked these guys out yet and you're into bands like Liquid Tension Experiment, Planet X or any late seventies Alan Holdsworth then this is definitely not to be missed and could arguably be the best of it's genre going ( another album is on the way as this is written ). Let's go for 5 stars on the evolutionary scale for Spaced Out's Evolution. A modern jazz / metal / rock fusion masterpiece.

Q: What gives Fusion a bad name? A: An album like this.

No, don't get me wrong, the genre is not against my religion - rather the opposite! Indeed, I am prone to salivate over complex works that demand due attention. That's provided those works "groove". This album is not one of them.

The band is listed under Jazz-Rock/Fusion and under that genre it fails to impress. I hear more of a hybrid between some Metal approaches on Avant-garde foundations coupled with emotionless "jazzy" fills. .

Listening to "Evolution" leaves me in two minds and rather frustrated. The musicianship is just brilliant, the technical skills of each artist are excellent. It's the compositions that leave a lot to be desired. Fragmented and rather nervous rhythms fail to provide a suitable vehicle, but sufficient enough to irritate. Generally directionless compositions studded with bursts of rather sharp solos in places create needless confusion and frustration (in me) soon sets in.

Considering that we are dealing with experienced and highly skilled musicians, I fail to understand the title "Evolution". Perhaps it wasn't meant in musical terms?

Would I listen to this album again? Highly unlikely.