TRAVEL CONSPIRACY

Time Collider is a new band to the firmer progrock firmament, which houses a foundation of routines. Fudge Smith (Pendragon, Steve Hackett, Henry Fool) and Stephen Bennett (Tim Bowness, Henry Fool, The Fire Thieves, Opium Cartel) have known each other since the 1980s band LaHost and also John Jowitt (Ark, Arena, IQ, Jadis, Frost *, Uriah Heep) is no stranger. Newcomers Tommy Fox (vocals, guitar, bass and keyboards) and Dave H (guitar) complete the band.

Fudge Smith discovered Tommy Fox during the auditions, especially his four octave range, which in terms of sound moves between Peter Gabriel and Bruce Dickinson. The past two years have worked hard on the debut Travel Conspiracy, which houses a powerful mix of melodic hard rock and progressive rock. The catchy melody lines, for which Fudge Smith and Tommy Fox are responsible, settle after a few turns in your head and with the ten-minute opener Clock Strikes Twelve give the gentlemen an excellent business card.

Fine progrock with twists, which despite the dominating keys still offers the space for guitar and vocals, where it is striking that Tommy Fox acts as a kind of crazy musical scientist. He can invent completely strange but stimulating music that combines tempo changes and melody lines, making the music of Time Collider very accessible. Like an acoustic Ibiza style-like guitar part, as in Fierbinte Sub Soare (played by Nick Harper), that seamlessly merges into the spherical keyboards of Cold In The Shadow, which eventually turns out to be a solid hard rock song.

Dave H turns out to be a virtuoso guitarist during the album, who is dosed but full of surrender with nice solos and gives the songs that extra jeu. The only point of criticism that is heard after more than 72 minutes is the length of the album, and the resulting overkill. Because closing track Woodland Vertigo contains the least vocal performances of Tommy Fox, which sounds very whining. In general, the debut of Time Collider has become a pleasant album, with the fact that old-fashioned Bennett, Jowitt and Smith are banging away to showcase the newcomers Tommy Fox and Dave H.