THIS GREAT DISTANCE

'Aramid' is the brainchild of Bryan Bulmer, who previously was one half of the Prog/indie duo 'Wolves in Aramid' which he formed with his good friend Dylan Faltisco soon after the two started writing music together in 2010.

' This Great distance' is a fully instrumental album of relatively short tracks (10 in total) - the shortest timing at 4.09 minutes and the longest at 7.34 minutes. It is Bryans second solo work, and in his own words :

'I took inspiration from the nature around me. The water and mountains in this region tie a lot of my memories and thoughts together, so I themed the album to that concept. It follows the flow of water out to sea, and the songs relate to important places, events, or hopes in my life. The map included with the Bandcamp download will give you some idea of the story, and the coordinates on the cover reference 4 mountains in the Cascades (Garibaldi, Baker, Rainier & St. Helens)'.'

Track listing is as numbered on the map.

Although essentially a guitar album with the amps cranked up to 11 on the loudest parts, the massive reverbs and delays which are omnipresent throughout help to maintain the intended sense of ambience, even when the guitars are being thrashed at full volume.

All of the tracks on the album follow a similar format, starting out with a slow burn ambient passage, sometimes with synth pads and/or piano, but often built around a simple guitar riff which eventually builds up to a thrashing crescendo of power before tailing off back into an ambient decay.

In terms of exactly which category this album should be placed is very difficult to say as it covers a range of styles and ideas. It's not prog in the traditional sense of bands like Gentle Giant or Yes, and neither is it prog in the more modern sense of something like Dream Theater, but it is way more than a simple rock album. The term 'Ambient Thrash' often comes to my mind when I'm listening to this music, so maybe that's a good categorical description for it.

There are no filler tracks on the album and each track is a delight to hear : memorable, passionately and skilfully played, and easy on the ear. The inspiration and thoughtfulness which has gone into the composition, performance and production of every track is easily discerned by the listener, and the desired effect of a journey through the wilderness is effortlessly achieved in the music as each track progresses.

I find this album to be both inspiring and uplifting. It will likely remain on my regular playlist probably for as long as I continue to listen to music. It really is that good and I can't recommend it highly enough.

I rate it at 5 stars on a personal level but probably 4 stars for this site as it's more of a prog related album than actual pure prog.