CONSERVATION OF MASS

A very exciting, high-quality album of complex compositions and virtuosic performances from this retro-prog band from Canada.

1. Eternal Loop (0:49)

2. "Amora Demonis" (6:58) if RUSH had taken their sound further into the metal field, this is what you might get. The vocal sound more like BABYLON leader DORROCUS than Geddy Lee. Excellent sound, composition, and instrumental performances. (14/15)

3. Carved In Rust (0:23)

4. "Still They Laugh" (2:22) musically, this sounds like a very cool excerpt from an instrumental jam the band had obviously recorded, but the Yes-like vocals and Mellotron are added to give it a fullness to deserve its presence on the album. (4.5/5)

5. "The Second Round" (4:31) a more original composition with Banksian organ, Gentle Giant-like vocal weaves, and a lot of flash instances of both YES and RUSH. Nice performances by all instrumentalists--especially the drumming. (8.75/10)

6. "Still They Laugh Pt. 2" (2:25) what feels like the beginning of the jam song that song #4 presents the finish of. Again, the vocals were probably added later (or the two songs were excerpted from a much longer collective.) The sound here is more muddled than the "first" version. Intentionally, it would seem. (4.25/5)

7. "Shades Of Blue" (5:26) pure YES vocals with a RUSH instrumental palette. Nice fretless bass--and bass pedals! (8.75/10)

8. "Action !" (9:39) a much heavier, more complex metal musical style with a 1980s BLUE ÖYSTER CULT like feel to both the music and vocals. (I take it this is not Jocelyn singing lead. Must be Jean-François Désilets.) Excellent lead guitar play in the solo sections. This is a nice style for them; it feels good to get out from under the YES, GENESIS, and/or RUSH styles--thought they do return to them in the final quarter of the song--which is excellent. (18/20)

9. "Nameless" (10:24) more excellent music imitative of YES--though the delicate passage in the third quarter and finish are more GENESISian. (18/20)

10. "The Second Coming" (4:23) acoustic guitar picking joined by a folk palette of other acoustic instrumentalists (and jazz bass). Once Jocelyn's voice joins in, it takes on more of the The Yes Album feel but the structure and from are all its own. I think the overall instrumental performances here are actually higher than what 1971 Yes could have produced, but this is not quite the memorable song that those 1971-6 Yessongs. (8.75/10)

11. "Watercourse Hymn" (10:10) an excellent song, standing on its own marks, despite its feeling as if it came right off of The Yes Album or Close to the Edge. (19/20)

Total Time: 58:00

I must admit, their harmonized multi-voiced vocal passages are superior to those of the bands they are inspired by or imitating. While not everyone is enamored of lead singer Jocelyn Beaulieu's voice, I find it extraordinary. He has amazing control of both his pitch and dynamics.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music. I don't care that there is much imitation/emulation of prog's past giants, this is really good music--from truly excellent musicians!