THE GREAT DIVIDE

From the first listen it was apparent that this is a very good album. No, I don't feel it's excellent. And I certainly don't feel it's poor. It's just very good.

At first, I immediately likened it to Spock's Beard's latest release, "Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep". In fact, I really thought it sounded a lot like that album. As it turns out, it's the same vocalist! Ted Leonard of Enchant sings on the latest SB album, too! But not just that. As I stated in my review of the SB album, the songs are very much in the contemporary rock vein but with extended instrumental sections for showcasing solo ability and some prog- infused musical passages. This album is nearly a twin brother.

As we are looking at very song-oriented rock music, one shouldn't expect a prog extravaganza. Most of the songs have some additional flair of prog sensitivity; however, they are very much well-composed, well-written, and well- executed rock songs with that something extra that makes them more than just mainstream.

The double album with a bonus disc is a very nice way to get into this band because the extra disc is a compilation of songs from their previous albums. I have found it is not easy or cheap to get some of Enchant's older releases, so this disc is a welcome bonus indeed. Furthermore, the digipak comes like a nice hardcover book with each CD on an inside cover and a booklet of song lyrics, album credits and extra artwork. It looks really stunning and I have to think that these beautiful digipaks are the CD answer to the gatefolds of vinyl albums.

An album recommended for fans of Spock's Beard's less adventurous music. Very good music. Nothing mind-blowing unless you are new to prog but, well, very good! Four stars on a good day. Three stars plus a little on any other day.

"The Great Divide" is the 8th full-length studio album by US progressive rock/metal act Enchant. The album was released through InsideOut Music in September 2014. Enchant has been on a longer hiatus, and haven´t released a studio album since "Tug of War (2003)", although they did release the "Live at Last" live album and DVD in 2005 before disappearing completely. Especially lead vocalist Ted Leonard has spend the intermediate years in a very productive way though as he has released albums with Affector, Thought Chamber and Spock´s Beard, and also played live with Transatlantic. Drummer Sean Flanegan has played with Cynthesis and keyboard player Bill Jenkins has also been involved with Thought Chamber. Other than the mentioned musical projects, the members have also spend time starting families.

So 11 years later is it then a more mature band who has written and recorded "The Great Divide"? That´s actually both a yes and a no as Enchant has almost always appeared as a mature act with a defined sound, and while "The Great Divide" is different sounding from the last couple of releases by the band, it´s not so different that you can´t instantly recognise Enchant´s signature sound. Ted Leonard´s strong voice and skillful vocal delivery is as always in front of the band´s progressive rock/metal sound. A sound that features vocals, drums, bass, guitar, and omnipresent keyboards. Both the vocals and the instrumental parts are skillfully performed by all involved.

The material on the 8 track, 55:34 minutes long album, features clear vers/chorus structures, but most tracks also feature extented instrumental progressive sections, alternate vocal sections, and both guitar and keyboard solos, so this is still pretty complex music, which the often relatively long playing times of the tracks also provide room for. Melody and memorability are always in focus though and the technical playing is ultimately just a means to an end. Compared to the last couple of releases, "The Great Divide" isn´t as heavy and there are only a few metal traits overall on the album. Instead the keyboards are more dominant than ever, and Douglas Ott concentrate more on lead guitars, atmospheric chords progressions, and clean guitar parts, than heavy distorted riffing. So "The Great Divide" is overall more a progressive rock release rather than a progressive metal ditto.

"The Great Divide" is overall a relatively strong release with a good flow, and while the quality and memorability of the tracks decrease sligthly after the opening trio of tracks "Circles" (which is a pretty different sounding Enchant song), "Within An Inch" and the title track, the album as a whole is both well written and for the most part intriguing (although the lyrics are generally filled with simple rock clichés, and definitely could have been written with a bit more finesse). The fact that it´s both well performed and well produced too, aren´t exactly issues either and 3.5 star (70%) is therefore fully deserved. "The Great Divide" is ultimately a welcome comeback release for Enchant, although not all tracks are equally interesting and some lack a bit of edge and power (tracks like "Transparent Man" and "Life In A Shadow" apply to that description).

I enjoyed Spock's Beard's latest album "Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep" immensely. So immensely that I began looking for albums with singer Ted Leonard, and his previous band, Enchant. It turns out that Enchant had been dormant for over ten years before the release of this album.

The music is very similar to Spock's Beard, some symphonic tendencies mixed with heavy prog. And the musicianship is excellent. The performances are excellent, as is the production.

But here's the problem. When I'm listening to the album, I find it enjoyable. It's just the type of prog that gets me going. But once it is finished, nothing stays with me. I've played it a few dozen times, and before I play the disk, I just cannot recall anything from any of the songs. My wife tells me that she thinks all of the songs sound the same. And unless I'm concentrating on the album, most of them do have a similar sound.

I think if they had added some of the humor and whimsy of the Beard's album it would have lifted this one much higher. But perhaps the presence of Neal Morse (in limited capacity) on the SB release was what lifted it higher.

Oh well. I like it, I just don't love it.

Formed back in the mid Nineties, American prog band Enchant have come to be associated with heavy and complex arrangements mixed with soaring vocals and strong melodies. Fronted by the charismatic Ted Leonard, the band delivered seven studio albums and 2004's live set `Live at Last' before essentially going on hiatus, finally emerging in 2014 after ten years. This comeback album `The Great Divide' makes it seem like the band were never away at all, and in some ways it picks up exactly where they left off with just a little more sophistication and restraint, and it just may be the most enjoyable and consistent Enchant album to date.

One thing instantly noticeable in this latest outing is a more relaxed vocal from Ted. During their break, the singer became the new frontman for fellow American prog rockers Spock's Beard, replacing the departing Nick D'Virgilio. Ted's debut for that band `Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep' was well received by their fans, in some ways considered a real return to form for them. It was surprising to discover on that one that Ted had toned down his usual exhausting, sometimes overwrought drawn out singing style from the early Enchant albums. He's now learnt a great deal more subtlety without cutting back on his powerful range, making him a far better singer overall, and he thankfully employs that same style here.

Right from the melodic opener `Circles', it seems like the connection with Spock's Beard has also musically overall been a bit of an influence on Enchant this time around, and anyone looking into this band for the first time coming from the last Beard album should feel right at home here. A gutsy guitar driven rock sound with sleek synths and strong vocal hooks is the template here, with the band stripping back many of their earlier heavier elements and even introducing a few vintage influences here and there as well. `Within an Inch' is an early highlight with a frantic chorus that jumps up in tempo, but especially striking is a lovely reflective middle with gentle jazzy drumming, placid thoughtful piano and a soul-seeking lyric that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Neal Morse album. The title track `The Great Divide' will be adored by Yes fans due to Ed Platt's nimble and blistering ripping Chris Squire-esque bass and Bill Jenkin's bombastic Wakeman-like synth stabs, and although the main tune is a little unengaging, the lyrics are very interesting and the chorus has slick harmony vocals. `All Mixed Up' jumps between plodding heavy grunt and subtle slinking grooves with a crooning vocal from Ted, who even pulls off some effective lady-killer swooning falsetto!

Guitarist Douglas Ott lets rip with endless shining soloing moments on the poppier and almost radio-friendly `Transparent Man', and with nice call and response shared vocals and a catchy chorus, it makes you wish all commercial radio music sounded as good as this! Same goes for the nice mix of acoustic and electric guitars and smooth intricate vocal harmonies of `Life in a Shadow', and I definitely relate to the biting chorus lyric. `Deserve to Feel' is one of the longer heavier tracks with plenty of fiery instrumental soloing back and forth between the musicians, actually not far off Dream Theater but definitely a bit more fun and playful, and the chorus is upbeat and warm. `Here and Now' is a welcome darker, more melancholic track with a very confronting lyric and sombre mood, and it finishes up the vocal pieces in a classy manner.

But Enchant decide to close the album with the amusingly titled instrumental `Prognosticator', which turns out to be an all-out total prog orgasm! So many manic tempo changes and aggressive whirling energy, there's everything from manic ELP-bombastic swirling organ assaults, dominating heavy guitar riffs and dirty grooves, slithering bass, Sean Flanegan's furious drum attacks, and even jangling Porcupine Tree-like acoustic guitar chimes. It holds together impossibly tightly, is another reminder that the band actually have a sense of humour, and it brings delicious vintage prog excess and modern power together in perfect unity! What a thrilling way to finish a great album!

Enchant show a great deal of maturity and musical sophistication on `The Great Divide', and not only do they deliver exciting and varied instrumental displays with emotional vocals from a singer who's never sounded better, they've also written some very relatable lyrics that lift the material even higher. It's appreciated to hear a prog album more grounded in reality, a world away from fantastical concepts and surreal imagery! If you like hard rocking progressive-related music that prizes strong lyrical and vocal elements just as highly as tricky instrumental displays, or perhaps you're a newcomer to the band due to the connection with Spock's Beard, there's so much to enjoy here. If you do decide to look into the album, be sure to go for the lavish double gatefold vinyl edition from Insideout Music!

It's good to have Enchant back, and even more satisfying that they're sounding better than ever!

Four stars.

Full circle

11 years after their previous studio album, Enchant returned in 2014 with The Great Divide. It seems that the band's fans are somewhat "divided" over this album, but personally I think it is easily their best since the 1990's and much superior to their previous three studio records (which I didn't like much). Indeed, I think this album even rivals Break and I would rank it just below Wounded. Like the latter 1996 album, for example, The Great Divide also has its best three songs right at the beginning with Circles, Within An Inch, and the title track all being very strong compositions. The keyboard sound often reminds me of Dream Theater's classic Images And Words. After these first three tracks, however, the album seems to lose some of its initial magic and quickly settles into the band's comfort zone of melodic, mildly progressive Rock.

The musicianship it top notch throughout and the production values are high, but the inspiration falters on a few of the tracks. The album's low points are Transparent Man and Life In A Shadow which feature choruses that are just to middle-of-the-road for my tastes. The album's final two tracks are again better but not up to par with the opening triad.

Despite that the album's best songs come at the beginning and that it holds some weaker songs in the middle, I still think the decade long hiatus seems to have done the band a great deal of good. In the meantime, vocalist Ted Leonard and keyboarder Bill Jenkins contributed to the amazing band Thought Chamber whose 2013 album Psykerion is absolutely magnificent. Leonard also sang with Transatlantic and Spock's Beard. What the rest of the Enchant members have been up to I couldn't say.

The Great Divide is a good Enchant album, but certainly not essential. I hope that another live album is forthcoming from Enchant as I would love to hear some of these songs performed live.

Following Tug of War, Enchant went into a big hiatus, at least as far as studio activity was concerned, and their members pursued other interests. Frontman Ted Leonard, in particular, would find a new berth in the intervening time as the lead singer in Spock's Beard, replacing Nick D'Virgilio - but that didn't stop him and the gang getting back together to give Enchant one more go in the studio.

I wasn't so keen on the last two Enchant albums before the hiatus, and in both cases the issue largely stemmed from the departure of Paul Craddick from the band. As well as being the group's drummer, Craddick had made extensive contributions to the songwriting, and it was immediately apparent in his absence that the band's pool of creative ideas had become just a bit shallower as a result. (In particular, the Rush influence which kept creeping into their stuff disappeared, to its detriment.)

Under such circumstances, it's understandable that the band would want to step back a while and recharge their songwriting batteries before giving things another go-around. Unfortunately, in this case I don't think it quite worked. On the one hand, at least this isn't another re-run of Blink of an Eye; they're playing somewhat less heavy this time around, in a reversion back in a more art rock/melodic rock-with-prog-influences direction. Unfortunately, that isn't quite enough to invest the material with much in the way of personality. Once again, they play perfectly competently, but it's so generic that I can't retain any of it in my memory once the album stops playing.

If The Great Divide has failed to rekindle my enthusiasm for Enchant, it also seems to have failed to prompt the band themselves to spend more time, well, being Enchant. Take Ted Leonard, for example: in the intervening eight years or so since this released, he's fronted two Spock's Beard studio albums and three Pattern-Seeking Animals releases, as well as working live dates with all those projects, whereas Enchant has been inactive in the studio and, after the 2015 tour supporting this album wrapped up, seem to have only gotten together to play live at major prog festivals like Cruise To the Edge.

Might this be the end of Enchant? If that's the case, it's a bit of a lukewarm ending. On the one hand, it's not an embarrassingly poor album; on the other hand, the bonus disc on some editions which provides a potted "best of" their preceding career kinds of beats the pants off The Great Divide itself. I'm certainly more inclined to remember Enchant for albums like Blueprint of the World or Break than for unmemorable material like this.