AD INFINITUM

They say on the booklet liner notes: "the underlying premise for Ad Infinitum was to recreate an early 70`s progressive rock album. We found out that many neo-prog bands write great music, but don´t have that sound, talented vocalists or write memorable songs"..."beinf aficionados of the old school ways, we wanted to hear more traditional prog sounds like Mellotrons, Hammond Organs, Moogs, beautifully structured 12-string acoustic guitar duets, and most of all, songs again". Well, sadly that´s exactly what they don´t manage to make on this record!! Eveything is sterile here, even the vocals! Never heard such a bad album like this, such piece of crap! If you really are into progressive rock, stay away from this album!

Ad Infinitum a little wonder i disguise (in form of Roger Deans beautiful artwork) These guys knows their seventies stuff. Its all here mellotron,hammond loads of guitar. then add some great tunes,spiff it up with good production. Presto!!!Callling all proggers ,you have to be deaf not to hear the qualities of this album! GREAT STUFF. BUY IT !

The main problem with Ad Infinitum is that they are completely derivative. Even if you cosider it as a homage to classic prog rock of 70-s, it is still quite mundane prog routine rather than an inspirational piece of art. It begins with a short tribuute to Pink Floyd and then progresses into sort of mixture of PF and Yes with elements of neo-prog. Nothing new for a listener. However, if you carve for more 70-s prog and already learnt by heart everything released that time and all archive, you may try Ad Infinitum.

We have many nice song in this album but many ordinary song. I touch of 70'prog with sonority of 70 prog.I like that but i think the works for this album will be fast.The guitar melody is good but the keybord is ordinary.Not very technical typical voice a nice voice but absence of backing job.6.5/10

I felt very dissapointed when I listened to this album, what I thought it would be an interesting piece of progressive rock it actually was a derivative neo-progressive rock album. I like neo-progressive rock a lot, the likes of Arena, Iluvatar, IQ and Pendragon tend to have far more adventurous compositions than the ones presented in this record. It lacks interesting musical ideas to make the listener return to this album or at least certain tracks. However it is a very well performed record and for that reason I'll give it two stars.

With Heavy 70's influences and a more modern sound, AD INFINITUM have released an interesting debut album. AD INFINITUM is essentially the work of ex-CATHEDRAL 's keyboardist Todd Braverman who was driven to record an album with 70's prog rock sensitivities and accomplished this in style here. This album showcases vintage keyboard work, warm 12 string acoustic guitars and electric guitar, clean bass lines and excellent drumming. Vocals are handled by a guy named 'Goose' whose voice sounds quite fitting for the music and offers a nice range. Overall I would categorize this recording in similar light to US bands BIG PICTURE and ILUVATAR.

I must admit: this record does have the seventies prog sensitivities that are required when your aim is to recreate the past. Vintage sounds from Moog and Mellotron are evident on this album. The Roger Dean sleeve reveils their primary influence; Yes are never far away. The instrumentalists make a convincing stance here. And yet this record is too derivative for it's own good. It fails in coming to life. The ambition to recreate has taken over the will to create something new. It sounds too static, much like a museum that forgets to interest its audience.

I'm of an age where I spent my youth listening to the bands of the 70's and have recently rediscovered the joys of prog in no small part thanks to this site. As a direct result of some reviews here I purchased Ad Infinitum and felt I should lend my tuppence worth to the others.

I've got mixed fealings about this album. Yes, the musicianship is excellent and the references to the 70s are obvious - including the Roger Dean cover (which, as a fantasy artist myself I find to be one of his poorest images in a while, looking like he knocked it up one lazy Sunday afternoon. This make the bands joy at getting a Dean image for their cover all the more amusing). Yet this CD doesn't grab me in the way I would like. I've narrowed it down on subsequent listens to the vocals. I'm simply not confinced by them at all, and I get the impression that the lead singer is convinced either - if you get my meaning. I get the impression that some of the lyrics are being forced to fit in with the music. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are lots of you will find the vocals are great - he simply doesn't float my boat.

Still, it's worth having if you are into neo-prog bands like IQ and PENDRAGON as well as the great band of the 70's. If only the vocals were stronger/more distinctive......

In my opinion the overall rating for this album may be about correct (Good, but non- essential) however I think the reviews are a bit harsh. I think I know the reason though - This is an album that is NOT neo-progressive in the STRICTEST sense yet it is also not heavy or adventurous enough for those who do NOT like neo-prog therefore it doesn't completely satisfy those who like one or the other. You almost have to enjoy the adventurous and the neo side of prog equally to really appreciate this music. Ad Infinitum are not quite as mellow as Genesis, Marillion, Pendragon or Arena BUT they not quite as adventurous or heavy as Rush, Yes, Gentle Giant or King Crimson either. Personally, I really enjoy the mix that Ad Infinitum finds on this album between the adventurous/heavy prog and neo-prog of today. I believe this to be an extremely underrated album. I urge those of you who have not given this album a chance to try again (or buy it if you don't own it). The musicians are TOP NOTCH and the songs really are put together very well. I just can't see anyone not liking this unless you are an extreme neo-progger or HAVE to have lots of heaviness or adventurousness in your prog. 4-Stars!

I don't own this album anymore, so this review will be pretty brief. But the fact that I got rid of it should tell you how i feel about it. As a band whose mission statement was to return to the classic 70s symphonic sound, and even got Roger Dean to do the cover, I was very disappointed. I recall liking the track Overland a lot, but that was it. Otherwise, the singing was weak, but even worse was the songwriting. To be good prog, you have to do more than just play the Mellotron and have long tracks - the melodies have to be solid too. And this was sorely lacking.

This is exactly the stereotypical kind of production that continually pushes the progressive movement deeper inside its own grave. The kind of stuff that one will make fun of, and i can't do nothing else but to agree... Once again, to achieve at finding qualities to this album sounds to me like an enormous lie, and it's even more dramatic when people who does does it with no back thought. You see, to like progressive music has become some sort of mechanical attitude to some, motivated by reviews whose only goals are to sell. And with no critical view - but did progressive music who claimed to be a revolution in itself will ever admit the need they have to do their own revolution ? - this becomes quite difficult to understand. Ad Infinitum's music is just flat and uninspired. The vintage stuff used here does not take them away from the pity they inspire, just as their so-called Roger Dean's cover (and one finds it beautiful... how ironic !). To make their case worse, "All Hollows Eve" is some sort of cut and paste from Genesis' marvellous "Entangled". But true progheads never noticed it. We know progheads buy and collect progressive music. They probably also read review. But, what the hell, do they listen ???

Spartan yet ultimately failed attempt at recapturing the spirit of 70's prog. Clearly a lot of work went into this, with practiced faux-Wakeman keys and jangling Hackett/Rutherford-style guitars, but it never really gels. Probably because, though there's no out-and-out thievery of any one band, the band display absolutely none of their own personality. No stolen riffs, but it's all "That's a Genesis-style bit, followed by a Yes-style bit," etc.

The vocals are decent, but they're not helped by the lyrics. The band indulge in every fantasy-loving-prog-fan stereotype in their lyrics, which reach new heights of risibility in the Viking-inspired "A Winter's Tale". One wonders if a Stonehenge-inspired epic is in the making for their next album (and yes, Todd Braverman has said there will be another Ad Infinitum album).

For all that, the album remains enjoyable and listenable, yet never much more than that. If you can get a copy cheap...

The USA progrock label Kinesis has released some fine albums from bands like Rocket Scientists, Illuvatar and Fonya. Here is a pleasant CD from Ad Infinitum, a band featuring Todd Bravermann from Cathedral (neo-prog band). On this eponymous album he wanted to re-create the wonderful Seventies sound. The instrumentation is breathtaking: Gibson, Fender, Ibanez and Yamaha guitars, ARP Pro Solist -, Oberheim OBX-A and Matrix 1000 synthesizers, the famous Moog Taurus bass pedals, the even more legendary Rickenbacker bass guitar and modern sound modules like the EMU Vintage Keys (great Mellotron samples) and Roland IV 880 and the band hired a Mellotron from Illuvatar, you can't beg for more!

So the equipment was available, what about the music! Well, don't worry, Ad Infinitum has delivered a wonderful 24-carat symphonic rock album: pleasant compositions, strong guitarwork and great keyboards evoking the unsurpassed Seventies sound (Genesis in "Ad infinitum" and Yes in "Immortality). The singer is from a Genesis tribute band, he managed to come close to the typcial, a bit melancholic Peter Gabriel voice from the early Genesis. The Mellotron is very omnipresent in the tracks "Waterline" and "All hallows eve", lastmentioned song could have been from "Wind and wuthering"! This music is not very original or earthshaking but especially for the mid-Genesis - and vintage keyboard aficionados an enjoyable album.

How to start this review, it's a good one, and yes, there is some resemblance to Genesis, Yes, maybe a little Starcastle but is that so bad? I think not. If you're looking for screaming guitars, don't buy this one. But oldschool prog oh yeah. No selfkicking musicians, there is a team at work and it may sound out of date but hey, if they all sound the same what's the purpose. I would like to hear the sucsessor, but when that is gonna happen....who knows....

American band who's only album shares it's sound with fellow American prog band CRUCIBLE with Mike 'Goose' Seguso singing very much like Bill Esposito from CRUCIBLE. They have the vintage 70's sound down pat for the most part, most notably the keys but it's being done a whole lot better by bands like GLASS HAMMER and many, many others. The Neo tag is a bit off tho. They lean more towards symphonic with some nice changes of meter here and there. Seguso's vocals grate on me most of the time but I must admit the music is catchy with some nice runs. Can't give it 4, but it does get a solid 3.

This is a very decent album with numerous obvious classic seventies influences that the band readily admits to, but no blatant rip-offs that I can detect. The keyboard arrangements show definite Wakeman leanings, and other reviewers have cited Genesis as well, although I don’t hear that much myself. Maybe a little on “A Winter’s Tale”, but this is more with the vocals than the keyboards or guitars. A bit of a ‘Wind & Wuthering’ kind of thing going with that one.

A little Kansas and Starcastle too, particularly with “Neither Here nor There”, but these guys are nowhere in the same league as Kansas in their prime. I’ve also read some reviews that cite an Ambrosia influence, but again – I don’t hear this.

In all this is a very pleasant album to listen to on a quiet afternoon, but not anything that will really captivate you. The band members apparently intentionally crafted this to be a sort of tribute to their seventies progressive and symphonic rock heroes, and to be honest if I had the musical ability I wouldn’t mind doing something like this myself, so who am I to fault them?

It is interesting that I have at least four albums in my collection by musicians who released them with the expressed intent of ‘recreating’ that seventies music in a more modern setting: ‘A Place in the Queue’ from the Tangent; Steve Morse Band’s ‘Major Impact’; Flower Kings ‘Retropolis’; and this one. All of them show obvious and strong influences of bands like Yes, Genesis, and – well, those two mostly. Add Kansas and Deep Purple in the case of Steve Morse I suppose, but those are givens. All of these albums have been alternately praised and panned for their efforts, with critic’s comments ranging from “respectfully faithful” to “blatant clone”. But all of these albums are also distinctly different in their approach, which tells me that the principles of progressive music theory and emotion have very broad and deep bounds indeed.

Key tracks here include the opening title song, primarily for the excellent keyboards and ranging vocals; the ten-minute “A Winter's Tale” which like I said is the one track that does actually sound a bit like late-seventies Genesis; the guitars (including quite a bit of acoustic) on “All Hallow's Eve”; and the lengthy “Neither Here nor There” with its pleasant tempo shifts and vocals that actually do sound like they were recorded in 1973 or so.

Weak tracks? Mostly “Overland”, which has some lively keyboard work but doesn’t manage to rise to much more than an overly-inflected AOR rock tune.

The Roger Dean cover is an obvious plus here as well, and like I said – I personally don’t see any reason to knock a few guys who decided to include a tribute to their musical influences in their discography. There’s nothing overly original here, but it is a well- crafted body of music that has no major flaws either. And as near as I can tell none of these guys has done anything as good since, so kudos to them for getting this one right at least. Three stars seems appropriate – nothing particularly special, but worth having in your collection if you come across it. Recommended to neo-prog fans and to other progressive music fans who appreciate the classics, but who also aren’t too purist or overly-pretentious in their expectations. If your name is Pompious Blowhardius, you probably should skip this one.

peace

A lot of people have panned this album, but is it really that bad? The answer is no. This band has done a fine job of getting that retro '70s sound, blended with '80s style Neo, and a few modern touches. It's not original, but it's far better than some of the flatter releases by the artists they emulate. There is some nice song structure, well-executed guitar work, and lush keyboards. It's not going to make you stand up and cheer, but it is enjoyable. My only problem is that there is nothing here that really sticks with me. It is all very pleasant, but there is nothing to grab the listener. I would say that it is definitely worth listening to. I just wouldn't spend much time or money trying to obtain it.

H.T. Riekels

I have this album for almost ten years now but in all those years I never could get a real grip on it. Ad infinitum is a band with potential to me but somehow it's not coming out, really. Since this is their only release it could be a matter of inspiration because I believe Ad Infinitum are better musicians than songwriters. When I listen to the album I keep wondering when the great tracks are coming up. With a great track I mean for instance Immortality, to me by far the best track of the album. A song too where they prove they really could be a class act. But I think it's not coming out in the rest of the songs. A real pity because as a great neo-prog fan I always hope to discover new great neo-prog bands but however much I would want this to be another one I have to conclude it isn't.

It's not that the rest of the songs are extremely poor, they are just less interesting compositionwise. It's the title track and Neither here nor there that stand the test of quality for me but the rest is somewhat disappointing. Because the execution is really ok and we are not talking about a bad album I still give it 3 stars.

AD INFINITUM "Ad Infinitum" is a quite appropriate name for this album, because, in my opinion, it is an unequivocal demonstration of the big (and permanent) influence that will always go exert bands as YES, GENESIS, E L & P... on any other band that intends to relive the progressive sound of the seventies (especially the symphonic prog style ). Still like this I don't consider this a work without creativity because, in spite of that "giant " influence, the disk in subject cannot be considered a cheap copy , because in very few moments I could feel some tendency of doing a "new reading " of some theme or consecrated musical passage of some bands that made the history of that style in the 70"s. One of those few moments are in the Track 3 "Waterline" where about 4:30 min a keyboard passage really reminds Tony Banks's style (something that lasts around 3 min, other moment appears in Track 9 ".Neither Here Nor There" where about 8:28 min a passage seems recollect "The Musical Box" ( however, it is a briefer passage than mentioned previously). The other tracks, obviously present the already mentioned influences (but, who doesn't have influences? ) however none of them "arrives" to the point of saying "this is a lot similar to that music of.... " Besides I don't think none of the musicians to be a type of clone, for instance: the vocalist doesn't imitate nor the style of singing nor the vocal timbre from Jon Anderson , Peter Gabriel or Greg Lake, the same happens with the other ones and therefore they know how to work very well with these influences for us to create a different "silhouette " from their "inspiring" ones. Besides I can detach some moments that deserve at least an appreciation like Track 1 ".Ad Infinitum", Track 3 "Waterline", Track 7 "Overland " and Track 9 "Neither Here Nor There." Desire to stand out that although it doesn't consider the disk a essential item I liked a lot and this albun does part of my collection. My rate is 3 stars!!!