QUANTUM

After a long and seemingly endless 5 year wait, Planet X return with Quantum. Noticeably absent from the line up is Tony MacAlpine. Taking over guitar duties is Brett Garsed, a personal favorite of mine. Guest starring on 2 tracks (Desert Girl and The Thinking Stone solo) is Alan Holdsworth. On bass is Tony Franklin and Rufus Philpot.

One of my favorite qualities of this band is their effortless ability to take odd chords, harmonies and rhythms and mold them into an amazing work of art. With many of the songs on this album (Matrix Gate and Kingdom Of Dreams especially) I found that even though they may be in odd time, they really grooved so well it did not seem that they had even left 4/4. I know a few non musicians who appreciate Planet X because of this.

The disk begins with a remake of Alien Hip Hop from Virgil Donati's first fusion record On the Virg - Serious Young Insects (Also highly recommended!). Starting off with a symphonic and majestic orchestral opening, the song suddenly shifts gears toward a heavy syncopated riff that dominates most of the song. Great solo by both Brett and Derek on this! One of many highlights on this disk for me.

Next up is Desert Girl, which features none other than fusion great Alan Holdsworth on guitar. This song has a very eerie vibe to it and keeps it through most of the song. Very dissonant in some places, which can be weird at first but after a few listens your ears will begin to adjust. There is also a striking similarity between the opening chords of this song and that of Stony Days from Derek Sherinians Black Utopia album. I may be a little to analytical though.

Matrix Gate begins with a very cool piano riff. Very catchy and was one of the first things that stood out to me on this CD. This song really grooves during the guitar solo.

The Thinking Stone seems to have many people divided. I personally love this song. The intro after the drums evokes a sad/sympathetic feeling. The solo by Alan is somewhat disappointing as their really is no structure to it. All in all this is still a killer tune.

Then we come to Space Foam. This is my least favorite song on the album. It contains a few sections that make me cringe slightly. Starting around 3:22 is a very high pitched guitar line which doesn't settle very well with me. I am in no way saying this is a bad song, I like it but if that one part was reworked it would be better.

Ahh yes then comes Poland. The absolute highlight of this disk for me. I get goosebumps when this song starts off. The keyboard line over the heavy guitars only makes it worse. Brilliant solos, Brilliantly structured. There really isn't much more I could ask for out of a song.

Snuff blazes up next after the serene bass solo by Jimmy Johnson at the end of Poland. This song really starts out rocking and then goes into some more amazing solo trade offs by Derek and Brett over some spacey keyboards.

Kingdom Of Dreams sounds just like the name implies. Dreamy. This song took the most time to grow on me as it is the black sheep ,so to speak, of this CD. It sounds reminiscent of Chocolate off of their first CD Universe. Once again great solos but Derek steals the spotlight.

Quantum Factor is a song that also requires quite a few listens to appreciate. There are many section to this song that need some time to sink in. Brett really shreds on this one. It made me ask myself "Wow, can he really do that?" I have never heard him play anything like that. He is just too modest!

Ok, so was it worth the wait? Absolutely!! I have never enjoyed a CD so much that I am tired more of the concept of getting up and putting it into my CD player than that of the music itself. There really is something special about this CD. Moonbabies is my favorite record ever, hands down. If Quantum continues to do the same thing for me 3 years down the road that it is now than I am confident this may push Moonbabies off its thrown. I really recommend this CD to everyone because I know musicians and non musicians who enjoy Planet X. You are really missing out if you don't at least give them a shot.