BEAT THE DRUM

Pallas

Neo-Prog

3.60 | 179 ratings

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A long wait since the bands last release to here. Hopefully time has improved the effort. Alan Reed is still on vocals and I didn't much like him on "The Wedge".

"Call to Arms" - This is no more than Pallas' homage to Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" but that isn't necessarily a bad thing as I love "Eye of the Tiger" - nothing gets me on a dance floor quicker than that track does, even if I'm never really in the mood for dancing.

"Beat the Drum" - Nice classical music type intro to the track. Very nice, powerful, music follows the soft introduction. This is a much more mature, fuller sound from the band who at last seem to have found their identity (I guess leaving the EMI stable helped with that). The difference between this and the previous two albums is chalk and cheese - this is powerful stuff.

"Hide & Seek" - Slow tempo to start the work which livens up solidly. Interesting mid section to the track. Nothing to make me or ET phone home but it isn't at all bad.

"Insomniac" - Solid neo-prog work. I enjoy the keyboards on this track as well as thus far throughout the album. Alan Reed also performs better here than he did on the previous album (The Wedge) and I don't mind him at all through this.

"All or Nothing" - Interesting rhythm through this. Very pleasant.

"Spirits" - Nice piano sound here. Thus far I've been impressed with the album and as far as I'm concerned Pallas now has a follower. Minimalist but nice sound-scape to start, fleshing out nicely. I love the bagpipe type sound emulation from the keyboard on this track.

"Man of Principle" - Upbeat rocker of a track which is just ok.

"Ghosts" - Really nice work that builds from the beginning pan-pipe riff infused sound into a very solid hard edged neo-prog track.

"Blood and Roses" - Nice minimalist piano sound to start accompanied by soft vocals which becomes an almost symphonic work. This is a lovely slower track. I love this one, pure magic if you are the sentimental type. The short lead guitar piece near the end stuns. Whatever my end rating this will ensure an added half star on its own.

"Wilderness Years" - A harder edged track which serves to break the mood of the previous track nicely although on its own it is just ok.

"Fragments of the Sun" - Symphonic to start, with mournful lead guitar coming in to a heavy drum beat. The track is ultimately dramatic and emotive. Brilliant! Another half star added to the end rating.

What a change - the first two albums were really not much more than throw-aways however this is a very solid keeper. An adventure in the neo-prog world. I would have battled to find more than 3 stars here but for two extremely strong tracks which push it into 4 star territory. Here the band muscle their way next to the front runners of the genre. Four stars from me and Pallas has gained a fan. If you enjoy neo-prog you can do no wrong in getting hold of this album. If you don't enjoy neo-prog then, well, you probably don't want to stop for a moment in this place.

sukmytoe | 4/5 | 2013-8-21

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