FROM A POINT OF EXISTENCE

Great. Balls. Of. Fire. What an absolutely cracking album. Whilst members of the progarchive community may recognise that Gandalf's Fist has hastily became one of my top 2 favourite bands, I should make a quick note that this album surpasses all expectations I had for the little Cumbrian duo and is an essencial piece of work that would fit handsomely and impressively into any prog lovers music collection. It is adventurous and diverse with lots of cheeky motifs one does not expect to come flying out of the laptop speakers, through the pantry, and into the sitting room whilst one is nonchalantly eating muesli - this is an epic and should be treated as such!

The introductory track made my organs feel a bit unsettled, but in a good way...the anticipation in this short sequence is incredible and opens for the marathon monster 15 minute + title track that makes even an M.D like me feel inferior to these two musical warriors. My favourite track (today at least) is 'There and Back Again', an obvious homage to Tolkien with a bit of an 80s ballad vibe - a great departure from GF's usual style but with excellent results! The simplicity brings the album back to earth in contrast with the complexity and mind-melting quality of some of the other tracks, showing the duo are not just your usual prog privateers, but instead are capable of bringing much more to the feast, in the form of a sprinkling of metal, a dash of psychedelic rock and a thin slice of cheese.

Equally impressive is the standard of complementary artwork for this album. GF's page narrates in some manner about some space age conspiracy story about an Ice cream man named William Small; the hallucinogenic ice cream and disgruntled robin takes me back to the day when music and art didn't have to make sense or have an 'agenda'... it just had to smell and taste like tangerines.

For those suffering from confusion over what constitutes as music nowadays, Dr Ball prescribes the PURCHASING of this album and 18 hours in the bath listening to it on loop, whilst pretending you are a giant and vicious sea worm breaking the balls of musical pirates.

"From a Point of Existence" delves even deeper into the classic prog concept album theme that made our genre so polarizing, exalting some, exasperating others. I particularly enjoyed Gandalf's Fist's previous "Road to Darkness" and its "Wizard of Oz" imagery, a delectable album of wholly entertaining music, worthy of many immediate returns (the ones that make it to the automobile audio system, as I do have 6 speakers in my new Civic) . This is an evolution of sorts, denser, less obvious Floydian aromas abound, inserting old- school prog moves (see Gryphon, Deep Purple, Tull, The Doors, Gentle Giant, Ant Phillips etc..) but unqualifiedly exalting in a myriad of ways, with a few head scratches to keep one on edge.

Pastoral beginnings as the acoustic guitar takes the spotlight, surrounded by leafy adornments, introduce the story of William Small, a personage that will meander through the storyline, unabated. Ice cream maker by trade and lost soul by psychedelic standards, the tale weave its merry path, through a byzantine labyrinth of moods, styles and musical expression. The title track is a 16 minute+ mini-epic that takes hold right away and never lets go. The tracks are drenched in deep atmosphere featuring breezy singing from a fastidious voice in Luke Severn, with burnished instrumental enhancements ranging from the fragile to the frenetic. Dean Marsh is unafraid to keep the pot boiling, severing the existing tight parameters of Neo-prog with heavy space contours, in way like a milder Hawkwind, veering into distant realms and back to the comfort zone, seemingly at will. So was "Obscuration" and "Ascencion", so the aptly named "Purgatory" rages into meatier rock contours, rowdy mellotron and tactile synths howling behind the riffing guitars. This is no angelic realm, so unconditional is the pounding. On the next subsection, "The Fall" the melancholia is chaotic, almost paranoid and definitely lysergic, like a heavy- prog "Yellow Submarine" with balls. This will take a few sittings to absorb, a little bit too harsh for my lately romantic moods but great music, without a doubt.

"Gathering Clouds" is perhaps closer to the Road of Darkness sessions, sounding almost like a compliment to the sparkling "The Council of Anderson", it being the highlight track of their young career, in my opinion. But the tone is heavier, brasher and nastier, as if the band wanted a harder sound. Mind you, a gathering of clouds can often be an ominous affair, so they are sticking to their guns. There is a slight hint of 'Locomotive Breath' in the verses, sounding very early 70s and mind-numbing the listener into some form of submission. A clear guitar solo swerves into sudden hysteria, bluesy and rabid, flexible yet linear, finishing off hot and bothered (the way a darn prog solo should be!).

"There and Back Again" just does not do it for me, never a fan of overtly American-style pop balladry. But others do enjoy this. So be it but the Lynyrd Skynyrd dual axe blowout leaves me ill at ease. Not their style and it does not firt seamlessly into the mix. "Crestfallen" booms along like some fiery Exocet missile, nowhere nearly as gigantic and symphonic as the Anathema song of the same name but settles in compellingly into some danger zones. Good but not as great as I was hoping "Monolith" as the name implies keep the mood salty and sweltering, wallowing in a thundering surge of psychedelia, becoming the best of the last three tracks by a mile, with a comfortable repetitive riff that marches along obediently. My favorite track here.

The title track part 2 continues where the first left off, heavy machinery barreling down the prog highway, a 13 minute + stretch of that restates the original craziness but the style is not that far removed from more metal acts and that's what bothers me. It's just not my cup of tea, so I won't even criticize it, wholly unwarranted on my behalf.

Nice cover work. .

I definitely prefer "Road to Darkness" only because I have listened to it so many times, knowing it almost by heart and adoring it so. This heavier offering stays the course and is a pleasant addition to the previous masterpiece but I doubt very much it can ever hope to surpass it.

I guess it may need a few more spins......

3.5 wee Liam Chromosomes

I did not like the previous "Gandalf's Fist" album much at all. Immediately I find this album to be more upbeat than the previous one (thank goodness). I really enjoy the sound of "From a Point of Existence I - V" Some "Iron Maidenish" sounding lead guitar work to spice things up (it's obvious that "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" impressed these guys at some point and that is not a bad thing). With "The Gathering of the Clouds" again I'm impressed. The canned vocals from the previous album are the most part gone thus far and that is a good thing as well. Well - up to "There and Back Again" and I'm still impressed. After the previous release I very nearly didn't bother with this one and boy am I happy that I relented. "Crestfallen" well well - still impressed. The next two tracks are no different meaning that I remain in eargasm. This a damn good album and one that I'm going to savor again time and again. What a difference to the lacluster previous release from this band. They have beefed the sound up to a level where it is almost prog metal a lot of the time and from where they were with the previous album which was drowsy music to here is fantastic. A solid 4 stars from my perspective.

Having thoroughly enjoying the previous release by this obscure act, I found myself once again reunited with Gandalf's Fist by a chance when listening to the a covermount CD from 'Prog' magazine which featured 'The gathering of the clouds' from this release. I recently received the album from the Band's website I have to agree with some of the other reviewers here - there is definitely a harder edge to this record... there are a few meaty riffs and frantic drums in comparison to the previous mellowness of 2011's 'Road to Darkness'. However this is no bad thing - the title track despite being 30 minutes in length has enough twists and turns to keep you hooked and the aforementioned 'Gathering of the Clouds' is bombastic, moody and without a doubt the best 'Fist track to date... Floyd Psychedelia mixed with a 'Maiden Gallop...excellent! Other tracks were highly enjoyable -with 'there and back again' the only track i found myself skipping on the first listen... it will take time to digest the rest of the record, but I am more than happy to be revisiting this one again! I have a keen interest in watching this band develop - they're strange, and bewildering at times but their sound seems to be evolving into something interesting indeed...more please! 7.5/10

As a huge Lord of the Rings fan, I was hoping to find a gem in the band Gandalf's Fist. However, after hearing their latest, I come away unimpressed. To be sure, it has everything I want: great guitar lines, interesting lyrics, etc. etc. However, there is something that isn't quite right.

The first problem is the vocalist. The vox aren't bad at all, but the overall mix of the album leaves much to be desired. The powerful guitars drown out everything, especially the lightweight vocals. I feel that this is less a result of a lack of skill and more of a result of having a vocalist that isn't quite ready to be standing up with the big boys. His voice is okay, but needs work.

I also found the compositions to be rather dull. They aren't very imaginative, and are usually rather straightforward. Even the multi-part From a Point of Existence is pretty dull and never gives me anything to anticipate. Then, of course, there is the track "Monolith" that is completely different with an interesting groove that keeps your attention. This is probably the strongest track here. This album isn't bad or revolting, but it sure is safe and rather unremarkable. There are a couple glimmers of good ideas here, and it's worth a listen. Just, don't get your expectations too high.

Weirdly named Gandalf's Fist is classified here on PA as neo-prog. The style usually associated with neo is the radio-friendly marriage of Pink Floydian atmospherics and Genesis theatricality. This is not that. I guess I could characterize the sound of this album is a kind of a melodic, but gloomy Pink Floyd with outbursts of power metal style guitar. It seems that the most well known song here is Gathering of the clouds, which appropriately describes my impressions of this album - not the thunder of metal, but uneasiness associated with the sky getting progressively darker with clouds, but not actually knowing when it is gonna rain. There is some respite - on poppies passages of the title epic and the surprise of the bittersweet country rock of Back and there again.

Some reviewers have mentioned the vocals. Well the singer sings melodically enough, but sounds as if he has been talking 24 hours straight and lost his voice. He is treated with effects which curiously only exacerbate this rustling impression.

Main attention is understandably drawn to the 30-minute title epic. Well it's mostly good, but way over-uses the main themes and dark angelic choir style synths, which combined with the voice and general gloominess make is hard to digest in a single sitting. Definitely not for the prog novice. It is wisely broken down into 2 parts book-ending the album.

To sum up, I think that the two lads from Gandalf' Fist succeeded in creating a distinctive sound (the combination of melody, gloominess and metal kinda reminds me of American band Disconnect, similarly a two-guy studio affair), but a certain monotonousness and peculiar vocals prevent me from giving it a higher mark.