BURNING THE HARD CITY

I'm perplexed as to the low ratings given to this amazing band.Thankfully Cesar Inca and Sean Trane both rate this one very highly as do I. This particular record has more aggression in it then their other albums do.This in part due to the fact that they released this record and "Suspension & Displacement" at the same time.This one is mostly hard and heavy, while the latter is spacey and atmospheric. Kind of what OPETH did in releasing "Damnation" and "Deliverance" at the same time.There are still the atmospheric moments on this disc but it's not like the previous record "Reflections From the Firepool" where we have a nice balance. Now having said all of that I love hard and heavy ! In the liner notes the band describes this album as a "classic instrumental progressive rock that is angry, powerful and relentless in it's pursuit of rhythmic intensity and passionate soloing".

"At The Mountains Of Madness" features lazy guitar melodies for 2 minutes before some great bass takes over, then they all join in.There is another change before 4 minutes as all of a sudden we have a jazz feel. Some incredible guitar follows, eventually leading us to some heavy, experimental guitar passages to the end of the song. "Province 19 : The Visage of War" is the darkest and heaviest song on the album.There is a letting up at one point but not for long as the guitars rule this song in a heavy handed way, including some blistering solos. "Feast of Ashes" is a song that displays the bands talent for spacey and atmospheric soundscapes. Some good guitar towards the end of the song, but this is for the most part a dreamy, spacey, synth laden feast.

"Grooming the Psychosis" opens with electronic sounds that are followed by a catchy melody. Some raw sounding guitar with drums being more prominant than usual. Guitars take the drivers seat for the rest of the ride. "Topanga Safari" has some fantastic guitar solos and the bass lines are way out in front. Nice. Apparently these guys are from a place called Topanga in California. "Ten Days To The Sand" has a fairly uptempo melody with more amazing guitar throughout. "Burning The Hard City" is my favourite track on this album. It opens with an eerie and haunting soundscape.The guitars and pounding drums break through this sound before being replaced 4 minutes in by FLOYD like sounds with soaring guitars leading the way. Beautiful. A guitar/drum melody sounds great before we get some screaming guitar.

I feel really privileged that I can review such an amazing band and album. And there are more coming, i'm just getting started with this bands body of work. I have to mention again that the album cover art on these re-issues are incredible !