DEEP HORIZON

Released in 2006, "Deep Horizon" is Scott Mosher's latest album to date. As with the previous "Inferno", we have a mixture of shorter song based numbers, and a trio of longer tracks running to around 9 minutes. Here Todd Corsa, who provided vocals on the two previous albums, is only present to play guitar on a couple of tracks. He is replaced on vocals by Scott Oliva.

The opening 8 minute title track immediately announces that this album will continue to explore the heavy elements which characterised previous albums. Here though, Mosher moves deeper into prog metal territory, Oliva's vocals being more suited to that style. The overall sound here is more akin to Dio and Iron Maiden; it is certainly far removed from the Tangerine Dream electronics of Mosher's debut.

Thus the die is cast for the album. "The breaking point" is a straightforward heavy, driving rock number with a solid keyboards base and some fine lead guitar. There's not much prog on show, this is easily accessible stuff. "A path of pride" is even more in the Dio (and Rainbow) mould. Succeeding tracks such as "Light years and "Invisible darkness" continue in exactly the same vein, the album as a whole lacking the diversity of previous projects.

The only instrumental here is the 9 minute "re-engineering the mind", but even this remains a slice of power riffing and layered synths, perhaps to be used as the backing track for a further vocal performance. "Falling down" and "Zero hour" repeat the Iron Maiden style, the quick cymbals (like) driven pace of the former and pounding bass of the latter offering no room for subtlety. At a shade over 9 minutes, the closing "The space between lives" is the longest here. This mid-paced power rock song is as heavy but not quite as metallic as what has gone before, the vocals being a bit more gentle with slight distortion.

It is interesting visiting Scott Mosher's albums consecutively to witness how he starts out as a progressive electronic artist, then metamorphoses into a protagonist of power metal. With "Deep Horizon", that migration is complete and those seeking progressive electronic will have alighted from the bus. New passengers should however be joining, as this is an album which will undoubtedly appeal to those who prefer the prog metal genre. The music here is written and performed impeccably, so those who simply seek high quality performances regardless of genre will also be rewarded. For me, it is a matter of some regret that Mosher appears to have turned away from the electronic trance side which he was so deft at exploring.

While this is a highly enjoyable album, it slips just a little too neatly into the very competitive area it is rooted in, leading to the impression that it lacks originality. Had I come to this album directly, I would probably be hailing Mosher as a talented heavy rock musician. His previous albums though set the bar high in terms of diversity and originality, and seen on that basis, the progress made here is marginal.

This album can be downloaded free from the artist's website (see the link on Scott Mosher's ProgArchives page).