RED

The historical importance of this album may be underestimated by some, but it was highly influential to diverse personalities with very different ideals and lifestyles, such as Maynard Keenan, Roine Stolt, and Kurt Cobain.

Opening up with one of the heaviest riffs in history, RED showed prog metal in its embryonic state. We see the line-up that started eroding after Larks' Tongues, stripped down to but three members, yet David Cross still managed to contribute on "Providence" before he left, and the album utilized many of the regular guests on woodwinds and brass. Bill Bruford makes up for the absence of James Muir with his harsh poly-rhythmic metal sheet banging on the super heavy pieces "Red" and "One More Red Nightmare". About the latter one, the ending section with the guest sax work has to be one of the most stupefying passages in the history of prog rock - it can put a person in a trance-like state, with the grim distorted arpeggios and the hypnotizing percussion work by Bruford . On the more sedate side of things we have the mandatory ballad "Fallen Angel", with beautiful oboe, and one of the best vocal performances by Wetton. There is also "Providence", a fascinating improvisation, with very clear development, but not as accessible as the rest of the album. Finally we reach the gloomy mellotronic intro of "Starless", which subsequently takes four full minutes to crescendo into a furious jazzy jam, and then ends with an ecstatic restatement of the main themes played by oboe and sax. "Starless" is recognized as one of those sacred masterpieces of prog rock, and for good reason!