FRACTURED

I think if I had to describe NEW SUN's sound I would say they blend RUSH with some Fripp like guitar melodies, and out of this comes their own special prog cocktail.

The first song "Intro" is an instrumental that opens with what sounds like synths, as drums and Fripp like guitar melodies follow. Great track ! "The Sprawl" features some good vocals and it has a bit of a dark undercurrent to it, as guitars grind away. It's kind of cool to hear the sampling of sounds from the "street". This is in connection with the songs title (you know, urban sprawl). "Glass" is another fantastic tune that opens with angular guitar sounds.There is a good beat to this one as tasteful guitar melodies come and go. A definite RUSH feel to the guitar tone. What a beautiful sound to the drum and guitar melody 4 minutes in.The angular guitar melodies are back 5 minutes in. "Then & Now" is another amazing tune. It's a mellower, spacey song with great atmosphere.

"Remembering You" features both male and female vocals in another song with a great climate. "Switched By Remote" is a powerful song that has a darker mood and a heavier sound. Some excellent guitar in this one as there is again a RUSH vibe going on here. There are spoken words that respond to the intense vocals.Terrific song. "Deathbird" has some theatrical vocals as well as some nice mellow passages of guitar.There is an IRON MAIDEN sounding guitar melody too. "Earthlost" is probably my favourite track. It opens with the sounds of the wind blowing. I can't say enough about this song. The lush soundscapes and the shifts in mood and tempo. Nice. "Lifeforce" is a lighter song with some tasteful guitar throughout. "Indecisions" opens with the sound slowly rising, as we hear some intricate guitar melodies.This sounds like a RUSH/KING CRIMSON mixture ! Some great atmospheric guitar as well.

This is a fantastic debut from my American neighbours to the south. Can't wait to check out their other releases !

New Sun hail from the Silicon Valley in California with multi-instrumentalist Christopher Scott Cooper and guitarist D.L. Erickson as the original members and Alex Kley (bass) and Scott Landucci (drums) joining soon after the band's formation in 1993.Landucci would leave his place to Chris Trujillo the next year and this core recorded the band's debut ''Fractured'', released indepedently in 1995.The album can be purchased through Blue Seven Audio, a recording label established by Christopher Scott Cooper.

Combining the Power guitar-Rock of RUSH and some of KING CRIMSON's extreme workouts, New Sun appear as a Heavy Prog group with an intense tendency towards powerful rhythms and complicated instrumental passages.The limited use of keyboards and the strong presence of the two guitarists result a dynamic and at moments raw guitar-driven style with both groovy and adventurous moments, while the vocals of Copper have sort of a metallic edge.''Fractured'' offers ten compositions, divided into catchy vocal deliveries, powerful, heavy grooves and technical displays, while there are plenty of different atmospheres offered by the group, from the spacey mood of ''Then & now'' to the nervous and dark sound of ''Switched by remote''.Quie often the group flirts with a more Prog Metal-oriented sound akin to QUEENSRYCHE with deep lyrical content and nice instrumental diversity.The two guitarists, as being the band's leading figures, deliver some great solos, impressive riffs and FRIPP-ian complex breaks, strengthening New Sun's technical efficiency.

Anyone fond of band's in the vein of TILES will love New Sun.Guitar-driven Power Prog Rock with a wide spectrum of different song structures, likely to please all fans of Prog Rock music.Recommended.

Two years on from his solo release, and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Scott Cooper joined forces with guitarist D.L. Erickson in 1993 to form New Sun, and by the time of their 1995 debut they were completed by bassist Alex Kley and drummer Chris Trujillo. One can see the journey from the debut through to this one, as this carried on many similar ideas, but as is often the case when there are more players involved, each with different influences, the music has transformed. In this case it is way more polished, and while there are more people the arrangements often contain more space. Take "Glass" for example, there are times when it is solid drums, a dynamic bass (love some of the different styles Alex shows on this), a little guitar and Christopher's vocals, yet there are others where they more far more solidly into prog metal territory, taking a leaf from Threshold as opposed to Dream Theater, so it is not surprising that PA list them as Heavy Prog. Indeed, while there are times when one can easily think that one is listening to the complexity of Rush or Tiles, yet always with a melodic sensibility.

I had to smile when I heard the word "Incommunicado" in "Then & Now", as anyone into prog will always think of Marillion when they come across it, yet this number shows a more reflective side of the group, far less bombastic and thoughtful. This is one of the delights of the album in that there is a lot going on and the band have no problem at all in shifting styles, often containing a simple complexity which makes it easy to listen to yet also contains much to investigate. This does not feel like a debut, as it sounds like a band who know what they want to achieve and have the skills and chops to do just that. While it does not sound like a modern release, it also does not feel like an album which is now more than quarter of a century old, and progheads would do well to investigate this.