HEAD

THIEVES KITCHEN is a rather new band with only two years behind them as a band. Their music is a mix between CROSS, DREAM THEATER, EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, GENTLE GIANT, HAPPY THE MAN, hard rock, jazzrock, KANSAS, KING CRIMSON, MANTICORE, Neo Prog, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR and YES. This independently released album has a complex rhythm section, skilled musicians, great lengthy compositions, a nice CD cover and a good production. The only thing I can't really come to term with is the vocals that I'm finding too uncommitted and without power. The guitar player Phil Mercy is a real guitar maestro but unfortunately he has too much distortion on his guitar, almost throughout the entire album. The highlights are the 16 minutes opener "Mute", "The Return Of The Ultragravy" which has some Mellotron parts and the closing 20 minutes track "T.A.N.U.S.". All in all it's a very strong debut album from a band I think we'll be hearing more from in the future.