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IO Earth - New World CD (album) cover

NEW WORLD

IO Earth

Crossover Prog


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tszirmay
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
5 stars IO Earth has released two celebrated studio albums that made some serious waves within the prog community, supplying a modern curve to the well-travelled neo-prog rock genre by infusing some quite brilliant vocals, such as those by Steve Balsamo, who also participated on the Rob Reed (Magenta) Kompendium project. Strange coincidence (not) because IO Earth sounds like a proggier version of Magenta in more ways than one. Both the debut album and the amazing follow-up "Moments" really took us all by storm, etching in their name into the 'next bright light' prog pioneer category. After a few illness related changes, the lovely and highly talented Linda Odinsen takes over the microphone and does so very convincingly. Back are leaders Dave Curaton (Guitars, keys and vox) and Adam Gough (Keys, guitars and vox), as well as bassist Christian Nokes. New drummer Christian Jerromes adds even more punch than before while Luke Shingler adds stellar sax and flute work and Jez King supplies violin and added guitar to the line-up. They pack quite a wallop, indeed! The mammoth 2 CD "New World" offers up a lavish cover with vivid artwork, sterling production and a tremendous amount of musical flair and bravado. The mood here is decidedly more bombastic, perhaps even heavier than ever before, but maintaining all those IO Earth elements that made the other two albums such complete treasures. Namely, slick modern beats allied with shimmering old school Celtic touches, some delirious Gregorian chanting (I love that choral stuff!) and simply wicked playing by this seasoned and tight crew, the guitar solos are particularly vivacious and the arrangements constantly on the "qui vive", like some alert sentry safeguarding a super-secret site. The music is all over the map, with some heavy rock moments, traditional touches as well as chorale spookiness. But the aural dynamics of serene to thunderous are clearly defined and wholly unexpected.

To kick off a gargantuan opus with a romantic ditty like "Move As One" only serves to showcase their grasp of melody and beauty, cello ablaze and passionate voice up front and center. And follow that with a steamroller progressive rocker such as the zesty "Redemption", a bruising bass torpedo heading out to slam and slam hard, in unison with sweeping string synths, sizzling lead guitar and tectonic drumming, hell, this is my kind of vibrant and nicely bitchy prog!

"Journey to Discovery" has very little disco, as it's another heavy symphonic onslaught of molten riffs that wink at Ayreon and Rocket Scientists but in a way more exciting envelope. Linda sings or rather howls with determined frenzy ("yayaya"), the sense of speed and travel quite obvious and delightful. The swirling romanticism of a suave track like "Trance" is particularly addictive, a typical IO Earth track full of both originality and toughness. These musicians are connoisseurs of the extremes that are well within their expertise, displaying Gregorian choirs ( a perennial trademark) to add to the insanity, choppy modern drum patterns and a definite hypnotic quality that sustains their need to progress beyond the clichéd styles that abound within the more vocal anointed prog genres.

On a lovely piece like "Morning", the mood lightens up a fair bit, evoking folkier slants that perhaps wink at other female-fronted bands such as Magenta, Mostly Autumn and such.Linda Odinsen shows off her pipes, fragrant Crimsonian flutes as a chaperone, then a simply executed electric guitar solo that is all blues and hues before a more exuberant finale that just explodes, out of nowhere. Then immediately fall back on the noxious and volcanic "Collision", a twisting and turning guided heat seeking missile that is in the clouds, invisible one moment (ruminating violin) and suddenly bearing down on your ass the next. Gothic monstrosity like some sonic King Tiger tank gone berserk, crushing, pummeling and relentless, this is perfect modern prog that every fan of any denomination would simply bow to. Both Jerromes and Frank Zappa alumnus Ed Mann add tons of dynamic percussion to the epic conflagration.

"Fade to Grey" is not a remake of the Midge Ure penned Visage track of the 80s but a long excursion into the dark side, though the acoustic guitar intro might throw the listener for a temporary loop, insistent piano and lush voice not far behind. Fascinating stuff, moody and redolent atmosphere cut to ribbons by walls of bombastic symphonics that first startle and then enthrall. Wow! When the sax does its foray into the fray, you just can't help drooling. The slick fret board solo sears the speakers into a fulminating mass of plastic, before a return to the pastoral groove. The colossal and repetitive "fading to grey, paving the way" chorus seals the deal, with Linda sounding like Heart's Ann Wilson (that is one hell of a compliment BTW). The first CD ends with the tenebrous "New World Suite", a clearly symphonic piece that flirts with dense classicism and choral expression, an all-instrumental arrangement with a sweet synth solo finale.

CD2 wastes little time in making you fumble the giant sized popcorn bag, buttering the carpet as the screeching bravado busts through the stereo speakers. "Insomnia" is a nasty piece of work, commencing with sweeping dissonance and a sense of uncontrollable angst, only to detonate mercilessly when Linda clutches the microphone and invites the massed choir to intonate the title. This is a heavyweight sucker, full of surprises with thick and edgy moments, interspersed with a bizarre sax segment that has a definite Barbara Thompson?like feel , only to morph into a shocking double bass drum, heavy metal flurry, complete with a zingy guitar solo that will knock your socks (and your pyjamas) right off . The cinematic outro is a sensational finale.

IO Earth like to weave in some Indian influences on occasion as well (see "Cinta Indah" track on Moments) combining tabla percussion with more modern synthesizer runs as well as a whirling dervish guitar solo from Dave Curaton. So "Red Smoke" has those attributes and so much more, as the theme gets heavier towards the end. Smoking!

The images of 9-11 are reproduced on the instrumental masterpiece "The Rising", understanding clearly the visual impact that incident has had on the entire planet, young and old , all connected to the media on that cloudless sunny day. The insistently sad guitar carves quite a long path, aided by a sweltering saxophone foray, both drenched in historical gloom but resolutely passionate. This is utterly gorgeous, to the point of heartache, Linda wailing a long "hooooooo"!

"Body and Soul" sets out as a melancholic piano and violin duet, until Linda intones a grieving lament, that suddenly explodes into this heavy ballad that sounds like Magenta on steroids, and then back to the sweet pastoral for a moment before another turn into the tempest, a brooding hurricane of sweeping mellotron strings, ballistic bass and demonic drumming, gritty guitars and Linda howling like a werewolf.

Ya want depth charges galore? Ya like boom-boom heavy rock? Two hard ones then for ya! "Colours" is bloody stodgy, concrete and just plain nasty. Sharp rapier-like riffs and binary drum artillery give the band a windswept platform to push the limits far beyond, the mood more like Threshold than anything else. This is continued on the rabid "Follow" with male vocals (Dave Curaton) suggesting a doom-laden crescendo of darkness that is closer to the early Stranglers but armed with a killer guitar solo that sizzles, drizzles and fizzles.

"Dreams" again features a hushed and somnolent male vocal, a stylistic detour that implies a much wider palette than one might think. The brassy trumpet does the lilting mood great justice, I thought it was a long lost the Beloved track, done in a quasi-prog style. Very cool track and utterly ballsy. The 'chaka-chaka' drums are a blast. Okay, this was one hell of a long catalog, with all kinds of styles and challenges, how do they finish up this recording? With the title track, silly you! And just like CD1, the intent is to rekindle the symphonic /cinematographic comfort zone, with a few unexpected twists. This time, Linda carries the tune with some operatic vocals, escorted by thunderous riffs, lightning fast rhythms, blitzing solos and mammoth melodies that serve as a kind of trailer or recap of what this album is all about. Celestial !

This is what progressive rock means to me, a vehicle for deeply melodious adventures, tremendous instrumental interplay and innovative symphonic arrangements that stretch the norms of rock music and finally, a delirious afterglow that yearns for one to return. Melancholic, taciturn, majestic, elegant and overpowering, the music is beyond the pale!

Another masterpiece in the prog pantheon. We all Owe Earth from now on!

5 fresh dominions

Report this review (#1433729)
Posted Thursday, July 2, 2015 | Review Permalink
5 stars 93/100 Bumble bees, dragonflies, and dark drum thunder. Welsh witch ghost blends in with greenery of the scenery, weighed down by a heavy pecan harvest and a nude descending a staircase canopy, floating down a river past sun spangled Elysian Fields , and I'm not talking about a tiny sleepy east Texas town, although we know that honeysuckled hamlet has contributed it's share of amazing human beings and farm animals to Earth's awesome story, no I speak of sacred Shangri-La bewitching elysian fields.

Complaints? I O Earth doesn't let me up for air. She drowns me. Cloaked and robed, shaved priests cram velvet marmalade into my mummy hole, along with myrrh, hooded snake, hippopotamus ,thyme and sublime odd time signatures. Speckled and bejeweled, I O Earth's- New World is a Maryjane Kay Pink in the cheeks thing. Oooohhh! She spanks like the Dicken's. That interlude in Oliver twists up inside her diamond tiara, mascara, pearl drops and devil dew dripping on her moon shine liquor. Oooo Cleo, wet in the star shine. Yeti, ye...yet,

like ancient Egypt I O Earth's New World suffers from the Moses Syndrome. Similar to the Red Sea fiasco, IO Earth should have split the album. But no! After listening to Close to the Edge, Thick as a Brick, and an unusually bossy burning bush, Moses hikes up the mountain and comes down a month later, bearing a prog masterpiece, , only to find his people in a drunken orgy dancing in 4/4 time around a golden calf, purchased on Ebay. Any prophet would be pissed, so he threw down the prog masterpiece and it broke in half, and became New World. Next time Moses brought down the Ten Commandments. And oh boy! That brought us all down. Sequels suck!

I O Earth should have recorded a double CD. Too much bliss for a masochist to listen to a once. I had to adapt. 100 minutes of uninterrupted serenity was too much for mortal man to bare New World made me face my fear of pleasure and embrace, a new century prog renaissance masterpiece. At first I couldn't comprehend it. It was as if, I yearned and pined for an exotic teapot. So, I hurriedly drove a hour north up interstate-35 to "Topeka Teapot" -Biggest Teapot Warehouse in the World! Bigger than Topeka Kansas! Jade teapots, porcelain teapots, cubistic tea, ivory tea...My Umpa Lumpa Utopia! Too many choices. I was overwhelmed by the New World. A triple album soaked in surreal aural moonshine! Yet, part of me wanted to pretend I didn't hear it. It would be so much easier to sift thru panned-out rivers for fools gold. I couldn't deny it. The New World is- a shiny masterpiece, golden molten, forged in Super nova fire. If there was a prog sub genre called... World Prog. I O Earth would wear the crown!

5 Crowns Royals for New World

PS. My sweet grandmother taught me...If you can't say anything nice... Don't even open your mouth! So, I mainly review 5 star masterpieces. I rate plenty of *, **, ***. and **** star albums. I rate 'em but I don't review them. Beauty inspires me! Insipid and mediocre... not so much. I don't review albums with over 987 ratings. Enough said, besides Prog Archives warns me to think twice before giving "masterpiece status" to any album. Collaborators are wise musicophiles. I deeply respect the collaborator opinions, as I wait like an eight year old for Christmas, for the Collaborator's annual best of list. Yet, I can't help believe that recent Italian prog renaissance and whatever kind of prog you want to call I O Earth, IQ, Steven Wilson, Barock Project, Leprous, Riverside, 3rDegree, and Anekdoten...Whatever you want to call it...We are NOT in a drought anymore! These are the good old days. Golden days for progressive rock. 2015 marks the cross hairs of a prog rock bulls-eye! So forgive me if I give I-owe-earth five golden stars.

Report this review (#1459591)
Posted Saturday, September 5, 2015 | Review Permalink
BrufordFreak
COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars This is an album that grates as much as it impresses. IOEarth seem like the heirs apparent to bands that heavy prog bands that seem to have peaked about a decade ago--like MAGENTA, IONA, EPICA, WITHIN TEMPTATION, and NIGHTWISH (though all four of the afore-mentioned bands continue to produce high quality albums). What grates me is the frequent use of sudden Jeckyll and Hyde transformations. Sultry, hypnotic melodic passages suddenly become loud, abrasive, over-the-top head-banging sections and then just as quickly fall back to beautiful passages full of interesting nuance and subtlety. The opening song is the perfect illustration of this: wonderful singing by Linda Odinsen and sensitive, delicate sax/reed play by Luke Shingler are offset by power metal shredding and Norse chanting. The Jeckyllish Magenta/Iona comparisons are not far out of line but, then, neither are the Hyde Epica/Within Temptation/Nightwish ones. For me, this is frustrating. I really don't enjoy the pendulous swings back and forth between tender and in-your-face.. Are the compositions good? Are the performances top caliber? Yes, by all means they are. I cannot fault any of the musicians--they are a great band. The compositional style is just not my cup of tea. As with all IOEarth albums I own so far (the first and third--I rated the second "Moments" from its progstreaming appearance), I rarely connect with an entire song. I am more prone to like parts and passages or individual performances in each. Such is still the case with New World.

"Trance" (5:10) (8/10), "New World Suite" (7:16) (8/10), "Body and Soul" (7:04) (8/10), "Morning" (8:38) (8/10), and "New World" (8:59) (8/10) are all strong four star songs. "Fade to Grey" (9:06) (9/10) and "Dreams" are a step above--though, like the song "Smoky Wood" on their debut release, the seductive song, "Dreams" (5:49) (9/10), doesn't even feel like it's the same band.

Another "problem" I have with IOEarth releases is that they are so long! Another two-disc release makes for a long and arduous task to actually hear and get to know all of the music (which is only fair when reviewing an album, right?) I think my brain and butt are conditioned to 45-50 minute listening tolerances.

Four stars for another wildly enigmatic album from IOEarth. Check it out so you can decide for yourself.

Report this review (#1468067)
Posted Monday, September 21, 2015 | Review Permalink

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