THE CLARITY OF CHAOS

Pravda's is an American band formed in the early 2000's. Their new album was released last December 21st and it is called The Clarity Of Chaos (2012), the album is a thematic concept work about our short time here on the planet Earth.

Pravda's music follows the Progressive Metal pathway but with a lighter tone. The band was a trio when they recorded the album with KC Thomsen (keyboards), Dave Thomas (drums) and John Redfield (guitars, bass and vocals). Now the band also has Tom Svanoe (bass) in the line-up. The Clarity Of Chaos (2012) was recorded at Sonus West and Sonus East Studios and produced by the band itself. This is the band's 4th album.

'Second Hand' starts the CD with quite a good work. The longest track on the album has many moods, rapid passages, Dream Theater kind of keyboards from time to time and a good vocal line. The second track 'Color Of The Moon' starts as an Indian piece of music and soon a very frantic and weird electronic part follows. Then the track keeps a calm, contemplative pace. But very often the electronic Indian music returns.

'Fall Across The Sky' has a syncopated rhythm, almost a jam kind of track. Nice bass line tough. 'Chaos & Clarity' is a bit Prog Metal clich', symphonic keyboards in the background, heavy riff on the guitar and bass and a straight forward drum track. The interesting move on the track are the vocals full of effects in the intro and the change for the acoustic guitar soon after that and a wave of vocals, the best bit of the album really. 'A Hint Of Grey' and 'A Brief Awakening' close the album.

The Clarity Of Chaos (2012) is a good album with many interesting moments, but not a breakthrough. Also the length of the tracks makes the album a bit tiresome. 72 minutes in 6 tracks is a bit too much. But it's the first time the band recorded an album of this kind so I guess they're finding their way. When it comes to the production the band is ok, but in the song crafting I found some of the arrangements a bit raw, especially in the instrumental solos field. Pravda's music will be enjoyed by Prog Metal fans who also like the lighter side of the subgenre.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

US band PRAVDA was formed sometime around year 2000, and started releasing their music in 2003. With minor line-up alterations as something of a key band issue throughout they have still managed to continue recording material, and have four full length studio efforts to date. "The Clarity of Chaos" is the most recent of these, issued in late December 2012.

To some extent I can repeat some of the comments I made about Pravda's previous album: Pravda is an adventurous band seeking out many different musical territories, and while they may not create the most groundbreaking, challenging music, their eclectic blend of different styles does cross borders many other acts leave well alone. I'll add in that the current version of the band has opted to explore a somewhat more inviting variety of this kind of music on their latest album, with a highly enticing, smooth sound and compositions featuring vocal passages as well. Before partially repeating my final statement from a few years back: those who find it satisfying to experience bands that like to take chances, and who usually enjoy a CD that can't be described as belonging to any particular genre, should consider themselves a key audience for this band.

This is my first experience of Pravda, although this is their fourth full-length album and was released in 2012. At the time they were just a trio, and all three of them supply vocals with harmonies being an important part of their style. In fact, there are times when they remind me of classic Gentle Giant, although the music itself is not nearly as complex as that of the classic Seventies act. The more I worked my way through the album I felt that they have possibly been inspired more by Spock's Beard, who of course were inspired by GG, as there is quite a lot within their music that could sit within the more melodic, and less overtly progressive, of that band's music. As I started listening to this I was trying to decide in my mind of that was a five star album or a four star, so I was somewhat surprised to discover that the more I played it the less I actually liked it. There are loads of great sections on this album, and the vocals are really good, while musically they are all on the top of their game, but there is something about this that just really doesn't do it for me and for the life of me I can't work out why. Each time I play it I find myself doubting my own views as I really enjoy it but the more I get through the more I feel that I really want to be playing something else. That's just not the normal reaction for me on any album.

Melodic, symphonic, very American but with some British influences, this is a prog band that sometimes veers into the prog metal territory without fully being a prog metal act. They have some wonderful songs, some great vocals, but to my ears they might have been better off using an external producer as some songs such as "Second Hand" could have done with some judicious editing. They are worth hearing, but this album just doesn't really do it for me, although I feel that it should.