BEWARE OF DARKNESS

Beware of Darkness is the second album from american symphonic prog rock band Spock´s Beard. On Beware of Darkness Spock´s Beard takes a leap forward from their good but not excellent debut album The Light. Beware of Darkness is probably my favorite from the band. One of the changes since the debut which has had a major impact on the sound of Spock´s Beard is the inclusion of Ryo Okumoto. Ryo Okumoto who mainly plays organ and other vintage keyboards is such a great musician and his playing really makes this album something special. Now with two keyboard players in the band Spock´s Beard had a more rich sound.

The album starts with the George Harrison ( The Beatles) cover Beware Of Darkness which is a pretty dark song with great synth and emotional singing from Neal Morse. I don´t know the original but this one is great. Next up is Thoughts which is a Gentle Giant influenced song with polyrythmic and multilayered vocals. Great complex song. Some might feel this is a ripp-off but personally I don´t care. The Doorway is the first epic on the album. With it´s 11:27 minutes it´s a beautiful epic song with a piano start which reminds me of Firth of Fifth by Genesis. We really get a taste of Neal Morse melodic skills on this one. Chatauqua is a short acoustic guitar song played by Alan Morse. Others have complained that this is not that exciting but I like it. Walking on the Wind is the next grand epic of the album and it´s one of the best Spock´s Beard songs ever written IMO. There is s Gentle Giant influence in some riffs, but all in all this is a great symphonic track. Listen to the beautiful ending of the song. Really grand and symphonic. The only weak song on the album is Waste Away which quite frankly is a waste of time. It´s a cheesy semi ballad with pathetic emotional vocals from Neal Morse. I´m sorry but this is too much for me. We´re back on the right track with the ending epic Time has come. Lots of great parts both symphonic and challenging.

The musicianship is excellent. The members of Spock´s Beard each contribute with their own style to the music even though it´s obvious that it´s Neal Morse who writes most of the music.

The production is really well done and everything is good in the mix. I like that Dave Meros bass is pretty high in the mix which gives you that retro feel ( I can´t help thinking about Yes and Chris Squire). The sound is rich and warm.

The cover art isn´t very exciting really but it´s nothing that annoys the eye.

With this album Spock´s Beard cement that they are the leaders of the american retro symphonic prog rock genre. I know I was hooked when I heard this album. Beware of Darkness is also the Spock´s Beard album with least cheese on top which is something I´m incredibly happy about. It´s really a shame that Neal Morse felt the need to write such cheesy pop songs and even worse that he chose to include them on Spock´s Beard albums. The presence of such horrible songs makes it hard to say that this or any other Spock´s Beard album is a complete masterpiece. But then again there are so many other enjoyable and excellent songs on the albums that they never fail to impress and move me. Beware of Darkness is as I said probably my favorite from the band and I´ll rate it 4 stars.