TEST OF WILLS

By mid-90's Magellan had basically become a full-time studio project, not involved in live gigs, which the band abandoned after some dates between the first two albums.And that came despite the fact they added a regular drummer to the band named Brad Kaiser, characterized by the Gardner brothers as a ''human drum metronome''.On the other hand there was no bass player for the recordings of the third album and Wayne Gardner took the resposibility of providing also the bass lines.''Test of wills'', the band's third studio effort, came out in 1997 on Magna Carta.

This work finds Magellan in a transitional period, they presented a largely heavier sound compared to the previous albums, but they also kept many of the classic progressive qualities they loved so much.The addition of Kaiser made only good to the final result (he was also given space for a drum solo during the opening minutes of ''A social marginal'') with the drumming finally sounding all natural.Additionally ''Test of wills'' was Magellan's most complex effort so far, a display of odd time signatures, emphatic tempo changes and shifting climates in the style of old Prog groups, albeit a bit modernized.The heavy guitar rhythms and the powerful bass work provide a fresh style with a certain metallic edge at moments, but there are still some decent melodies and vintage keyboards to attract the listener of more Classic Prog adventures.Not to mention that the structures of the songs have much more to do with YES, KANSAS, GENESIS and GENTLE GIANT than to say Dream Theater: Electroacoustic passages, Hammond organ waves, sweet multi-vocal harmonies and symphonic, epic atmospheres.Trent Gardner also introduces the trombone to the sound of the band, a great surprise indeed and a fine way to use the marching and pompous sound of the instrument in the long title track.

Great work by the veteran brothers from California.Bombastic Heavy Prog with symphonic overtones and complicated instrumental and vocal parts.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars