SPLITTING IONS IN THE ETHER

If you like King Crimson, Kick ass drums, Thundering Bass, and melodic yet hard guitar, this is the band for you. The music of this band is timeless. It still kicks as much ass today as it did in the late 70's. Spliting Ions in the Either-incredible recovery of the live stuff and how great is it to get 30 min of un-released tunes. If you don't have a copy of Artifacts of Passion then this is the one CD that is missing from your collection.

What a wonderfull surprise this album has turned out to be. I got an inexpensive copy on ebay a few weeks ago, I've had a hard time not playing it everyday since. I didn't really have high expectations for it, but now I want to hear more. The disc starts out with some very spacey synth work layered with wolf howls, reminds me of Klaus Schultz around Blackdance or Tangerine Dream from the Phaedra period. Track 2 has some really nice guitar work , interlocking patterns a la King Crimson ( I'm pretty sure that this was recorded before the Discipline album came out) but with a different tone than KC. BIG sounding Mellotron too. Track 3, The Balrog , opens with more interesting guitar figures and more wolves, lots of percussion and gongs, at about 2 minutes into this track the full band really kicks in with some great bass and drum work and then the hard turns start comming, very cool. The first time I played this I didn't know what was going to happen next. Track 3 is a rather heavy number with some hints of Gentle Giant in the way they use stops and overlaping riffs. The drummer lets loose on this track with some nice fills and interaction with the percussionist. Track 4, Aspen Flambe' is very different from all the other tracks on this disc. It is the shortist one, has vocals and is much simpler than all the rest. Not really a prog track, sounding more like some early metal or old fashioned hard rock than anything else. Track 6 is wonderfull, and the longest track on the album at just over 11 minutes. Lots of interesting parts going on, flute, more gongs, bass pedals, and that blessed Mellotron. There are hints of Genesis in this track but nothing overt. Track 7 starts out with more vocals over a really nice guitar figure, works perfectly! Then the full band kicks in and takes this number into the realm of Genesis at their best, it almost sounds like an unused track from Foxtrot or Selling England By The Pound. At the end of this track you finally realize that this a live album, up untill this point you really think that you are hearing a studio recording. Track 8, The Abduction. Now I'm really confused, I had begun to think that the St. Elmo's Fire sound was more of a Genesis type symphonic thing, but they go into a perfect Bruford/Wetton period King Crimson crazy improv/jam thing, the only problem with this track is that it is just not long enough. Track 9, another melodic begining, a la Genesis circa Foxtrot, but this becomes a heavy exercise with a cool spacey section sandwiched in the middle that finally closes with a classical type of ending that Bach might have written. All in all, for a 25 year old live album that was recorded to a 2 track tape machine, this is a mighty fine piece of work. Any lover of quality prog would find lots to enjoy here. And while I have used famous bands as a comparison, these guys don't really sound like anybody else, and that in it's self is something to admire.

St. Elmo's Fire could have lived up the hype if formed around mid-70's, but the attack of New Wave, Disco and Punk reduced their chances to success and apparently led to instability within the group.After line-up changes and a few more demo recordings the Cleveland-based quintet disbanded in May 1981.Paul Kollar, who by the 90's had moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, sat down with Mark Helm to work on new and old pieces of the band.The thirst for a reunion led to the establishment of the Sprawling Productions label, on which they released the CD ''Splitting ions in the ether'' in 1998, a good chance for anyone not owning the band's rare 1980 vinyl to listen to St. Elmo's Fire's innovative sound.

But the whole story about this release was the bonus material placed next to the four tracks of the vintage vinyl record of the band.''Searching for food'' is a surprising intro to say the least, a spacious Electronic ambience with a cinematic, almost cosmic atmosphere with grandiose synths and sound effects, leading to the powerful ''Gone to ground in the Khyber pass''.Some 8 minutes of complex Progressive Rock with a tremendous opener, led by a symphonic atmosphere similar to ELOY and based on the majestic sound of Mellotron, before getting in the mood of a Heavy Prog vessel with complicated guitar moves and a steady rhythm section, revisiting the orchestral lines of the opening minutes towards the end.''The balrog'', ''Parasites and bureaucrats'' and ''Aspen flambe'' were all included in ''Live At The Cleveland Agora'', but the 11-min. follower ''The Reluctant bride'' is yet another great piece and fine example of the band's versatility.This could be propably placed next to the early KING CRIMSON offerings, but here the intricate guitar lines and sinister textures are combined with a big symphonic sound, propelled by the mighty Mellotron of Stephen John Stavnicky, some rural passages with interesting flute work and the always atmospheric use of synthesizers.Complex, typical US-styled Prog Rock, similar to PENTWATER and YEZDA URFA.Then comes ''Fantasy come reality'', another piece included in ''Live At The Cleveland Agora'', before the band revisits the principles of ''Red''-period KING CRIMSON with the guitar manifest of ''The abduction'' with its haunting rhythms, complex twists and heavy overtones.The 9-min. farewell ''The Nuremberg Waltz'' is more of the same, dense and excessive guitar-oriented instrumental music with tons of breaks and a slight RUSH nuance next to the powerful and complicated KING CRIMSON experiments along with another short dash of Mellotron majesty.

Complex US Prog with King Crimson as a guiding light, surrounded by influences from Rush, Yes and Yezda Urfa.Interesting and pretty intricate material for fans of captivating, mostly instrumental Prog Rock.Recommended...3.5 stars.