MILLIONTOWN

Out of the better known modern prog acts, Frost* (yes, with a cute snowflake, although sometimes it pops up in my iPod as The Frost) sat on my shelf the longest, for five years. I don't really know why, as it presented an admirable attempt to bridge neo-prog with modern rock, and featured among members John Mitchell, who became a defining part of the latter-day sound of Arena, along with Clive Nolan, and Andy Edwards, who provided a needed kick of energy to IQ's Frequency album. Maybe because I had trouble making it through the 25-minute Milliontown, which has a rather boring middle part (the beginning and end are good).

Anyway, this ain't half-bad. Compared to the follow-up, it still has kind of a split personality. 3 longer songs are neo- prog epics, basically a succession of typically neo-proggish catchy energetic synth and delayed guitar effects solos with slower verses in between. And the other 3 belong to modern rock family - heavy and/or densely layered, with loads of electronic effects to them. Later they would take more in the second direction.