GLASS HAMMER

There's plenty of changes in Hammer land for this effort, some of which takes a bit of getting used to! Founding members, bassist Steve Babb and keyboard player Fred Schendel, are still the core of the group alongside frequent leading lady Susie Bogdanowicz and powerhouse drummer Aaron Raulston, but with guitarist Kamran Alan Shikoh exiting the band, several guests have offered guitar contributions for the album, and stepping in for vocals here is Discipline's lead singer Matthew Parmenter, as well as a local acquaintance of the group, Patton Locke. The band are also determined to avoid repeating themselves, and while much of `Chronomonaut' is instantly recognisable as them, orchestration and brass instruments feature this time around, along with touches of blues, progressive-electronic, ambient and psych rock, making `Chronomonaut' a highly distinctive GH album all its own.

After `The Land of Lost Content's introduction of pretty piano, announcing organ and sighing voice, the strident `Roll for Initiative' kicks in with Steve's chunky upfront bass rumbling, Aaron's punchy n' purposeful drumming and Fred's emerging synth gloss. It's quickly blasted with funky horn blasts, a swaggering lead vocal from Patton carrying a catchy tune and soaring group harmonies that rapidly twist the track in endless directions with buoyant infectiousness. `Twilight of the Godz' initially appears on the surface to be a ballad, but some treated effects on Susie's first lead vocal on the disc brings a lightly psychedelic twist (and listen to the way her voice moves between soft and raw!), there's a tastily shambling drowsiness to much of the instrumental second half and plenty of sun-kissed ragged guitar soloing from guest Brian Brewer that flirts with some reaching Steve Howe-like touches here and there that weaves in and out of the entire piece.

Van der Graaf Generator fans will dig the heck out of `The Past is Past', a ten minute epic in the classic storytelling/character- driven approach of many a vintage prog album. Jamison Smeltz's saxophone that darts through the track reminds of how effectively the instrument was incorporated into Seventies rock albums, the vocal chameleon that is Matthew Parmenter moves through everything from everything from bluesy raspy croon to deranged Peter Hammill-esque theatrical snarl, and Fred's mischievously devilish keyboard runs carry a wink in their eye! `1980 Something' is an reflective Susie-led acoustic ballad that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Mostly Autumn album, `A Hole in the Sky' is a playful pop-rocker with a punchy chorus, and `Clockwork' is a short atmospheric electronic interlude of shimmering synth programming that could pass for a `Force Majeure'-era Tangerine Dream outtake - more in this manner later too!

The gloomy `Melancholy Holiday' conveys a heavy mood thanks to Susie's impeccably haunting delivery, but light slowly infiltrates with humming keyboard ambiance and ethereal guitar strains that lift the piece to soaring heavens of beauty. Schizophrenic two-part instrumental `It Always Burns Sideways' initially rumbles with grumbling guitar menace, mud-thick distorted bass and plodding aggressive drumming, but trickles of Hammond organ and whirring keyboards quickly turn inviting and dazzling, and there's some tasty Yes-like licks flitting in and out as well.

`Blinding Light' is a rocking Patton-sung saunter powered by energetic pumping horns, the song frequently splintering off into delicious jazz-fusion-esque electric-piano laced runs and Hammond organ soloing that reminds of everything from Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple and probably could have shown up of any of the last few Neal Morse discs, and `Tangerine Meme' (you'd never guess which group inspired this one!) starts as a stark ambient synth/organ drift before slinking into moody electronica. Ten-plus minute epic `Fade Away' works sweeping orchestration, delicate piano passages, spiralling Moog solos and regal organ pomp into an unhurried and perfectly executed dramatic closer, with Matthew, Susie and Patton all sharing striking lead vocal moments to close the album in sophisticated fashion.

While it's a shame that Fred and Steve don't handle any of the proper lead vocals this time around (as they're such a strong part of the GH identity overall) and it will remain to be seen if Discipline's Matthew returns for more, Glass Hammer here again nail a vintage symphonic approach that still experiments and always remains contemporary. `Chronomonaut's true strengths won't reveal themselves on a single listen, instead - like all the best prog albums - it takes multiple spins to truly reveal just what makes it so impressive. Take the time to listen to the words of the clever song-writing, marvel at the diverse range of styles the band tackle, enjoy the confident singing, take in the sly humour and appreciate this love-letter to prog's golden era that isn't a mere retro throwback, and you'll be rewarded with a superb album from an ever-talented band.

Equal parts fun and dramatic, vibrant and diverse, `Chronomonaut' is another winner from Glass Hammer, and absolutely one of the prog-rock highlights of 2018.

Four and a half stars.

Still, "Longer" is a masterpiece rearranging of a soft rock Dan Fogelberg tune that I think wouldn't be out of place on any prog rock compilation and is a must hear. They could make a whole album of soft rock covers in this vein and I would buy it. "Hummingbird" and "Reminiscing" and Paul Davis' "Cool Night" and Steve Winwood's "While You See a Chance" have potential,

This year it's 25 years ago that USA progrock formation Glasshammer released their first album Journey Of The Dunadan, anno 2018 Glasshammer has released 17 studio-albums, 3 live CD's and 4 live DVD's, along 3 compilations and even 1 single (Cool Air from 2016). They also did a 25th Anniversary tour, including a gig on the Cruise To The Edge. And on May 18th the band will release a new live album entitled Mostly Live In Italy, incredible, what a prolific progrock band! The backbone of Glasshammer is the duo Fred Schendel and Steve Babb (both multi-instrumentalists), after all those years they are the only original members.

I am not familiar with the Double Live DVD from 2015 but I have watched Glasshammer their first two live DVD's Lex Live (2004) and Live At Belmont (2006). If I compare these two with this third live DVD entitled Live At The Tivoli, I conclude that this one is superior: more varied (the band has invited The Adonia String Trio and the massive The Lee University Choral Union and The GPS Girls Choir) and Glass Hammer has matured during the years. Their very melodic sound is drenched into the Seventies symphonic rock tradition (especially Yes, ELP and Kansas) but more accessible and with an important role for the vocals (as usual in the USA progrock), along a male singer also three female vocalists. Fred Schendel delivers lots of strong keyboard work, from dazzling synthesizer flights and powerful Hammond organ runs to some majestic church organ and lush Mellotron waves. Another focal point is the guitarwork featuring lots of powerful and fiery solos and exciting interplay with the keyboards.

The atmospheres in the 10 compositions range from dreamy with violins (even a solo piece by The Adonia String Trio in Longer) and acoustic guitar to bombastic and up-tempo, with splendid work on guitar and keyboards. Especially in the track Knight Of The North and Having Caught A Glimpse, this is Glass Hammer at their best: exciting shifting moods with swirling Emersonian Hammond organ, fat synthesizer flights, powerful interplay between the musicians and compelling final parts with a huge choir and church organ. The final song is the Yes cover South Side Of The Sky (the studio version featured Jon Anderson), Glass Hammer does a decent job with good female vocals and a strong fiery guitar solo.

Excellent work!

Opener `Shadows of the Past' originally appeared in much sparser form on Glass Hammer's debut album `Journey of the Dunadan' back in 1993, and here keyboardist Fred Schendel has been able to give this short introductory piece a suitably grander orchestral-like makeover, and it lifts the piece closer to something along the lines of the fancy and prancing fanfare pomp of Rick Wakeman's solo work. Further instrumental `Infusion' hails from a rare 1995 solo album that the band contributed to by one of their early singers Tracy Cloud, and a compact and nimble symphonic interlude it is, where some of the whirring keyboards call to mind Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess.

The first lengthy prog workout arrives with the spiritual themed `Identity Principle', a near-thirteen minute epic that was partially recorded in the mid Nineties and recently completed, and it could have easily found a home on the early `Lex Rex' and `Chronometree'-era albums of the band. There's no shortage of crisp ringing electric guitars and softer acoustic strums dancing around strident drumming, and the contemplative lyric is given plenty of vocal variety from the trio of Fred, bassist Steve Babb and frequent Hammer vocalist Walter Moore. A cover of Argent's `Hold Your Head Up' has been given a bombastic rocking makeover in a punchy Neal Morse/Spock's Beard-like manner, instrumental classical reinterpretation `Babb's Bach' is a delightful smorgasbord of ravishing Moog, pretty piano and Steve's murmuring bass, and his `And Then She Sighed' is lovely shorter choir-lifted madrigal folk prettiness in the fairy-tale manner of so many early Glass Hammer pieces.

`Eiger Dreams', used to open Glass Hammer's `Live at the Tivoli' DVD from 2008 starts with moody electronic ambience before launching into electric guitar histrionics, and frequent Glass Hammer leading lady Susie Bogdanowicz takes the lead for the Beatles cover `It's All Too Much' that stands apart from the original and Steve Hillage versions with thick Hammond organ and a strident stomp. The snarling bluesy guitars, dirty harmonica and bashing drums of `Troll' perfectly convey the sly dig at unhelpful and negative internet taunts, and it's one of the heaviest pieces the band have ever delivered with just a hint of dusty plodding stoner rock to it! Dating from 2010 and linked to the `If' sessions, guitarist Kamran Alan Shikoh's `A Grain of Sand' is an ethereal guitar rumination that almost serves the same purpose here as those Steve Howe acoustic breaks on so many Yes albums - although Fred and Steve help out with little fancy touches!

The near-ten minute organ and Mellotron dominated dreamy epic `Cool Air' originates from the superb 2012 triple CD set `The Stories of H.P Lovecraft: A Syn-phonic Collection' (also several fine Italian modern prog bands on that box-set, do check it out!) and features future Yes frontman Jon Davison on vocals, and it compliments the darkest Davison-led Glass Hammer album `Perilous' with its ghostly atmosphere and maddening gothic symphonic mood. With connections to Sound of Contact/Mantra Vega's multi-instrumentalist David Kerzner and Rush's Neil Peart, `The Impulsive Type' is sung by frequent Hammer contributor over the years Carl Groves, and it's a sleek metallic harder edged rocker. The disc then concludes with a blistering take on `No Man's Land' off Glass Hammer's recent superb concept disc `Valkyrie', and it's wilder, more jagged and frequently attacked with an aggressive energy, with Aaron Raulston's busy thrashing drumming, Steve's malevolent crooning and Susie's raucous vocal taking plenty of the focus.

While these sort of compilations are rarely essential, `Untold Tales' is a very welcome undemanding set that makes for a welcome breather between the bigger conceptual musical statements that Glass Hammer frequently issue like `The Inconsolable Secret' and `Valkyrie'. It probably didn't need the live piece at the very end (as great as it is!), because solely studio recordings help discs like this serve as a fine standalone album in their own right. But `Untold Tales' is a winning collection of unrelated pieces that also serves as a nice commemorative set to celebrate the quarter century career of one of the leading modern symphonic bands, and it should tide over fans of the group nicely until the next grand Glass Hammer work.

Four stars.

Well, first of all, I had the impression that Glass Hammer were slowly trying to become a modern day Yes. It was as if they were saying, "If Yes won't do it this way then we will!" One can't help but feel that way when "The Culture of Ascent" covers "South Side of the Sky" and features a guest appearance by Jon Anderson or when "If" and "Cor Cordium" vocalist Jon Davison goes on to become the lead vocalist for Yes, or when they have this wonderful bass guitar sound that resembles Chris Squire's so much. But to be fair, Glass Hammer are not exactly like Yes, and on "Valkyrie" I think they have moved along, taking much of the Yes decor out of their music and adding in other influences and ideas.

Though the music intrigued me from the start, I was on the cusp of moving on from contemporary prog and into other styles of music, so I left this one for nearly a year before coming back to it recently. The album surprised me because as I walked home with my phone in my pocket and the ear buds pumping the music into the space between my ears, I kept taking the phone out of my pocket to check the song titles. That's because it was like, "Wow, that sounds really cool. What song is that?" And this process continued from the second track throughout nearly the whole album.

This is a story of a soldier returning home from the horrors of war to the girl who loves him, and to bring the story to life we have founding member Steve Babb (who also gives us that awesome bass) on lead vocals for the male lines and Susie Bogdanowicz on lead vocals for the female parts. My honest opinion is that while Steve Babb can lay down some fabulous bass work, his lead vocals are a notch behind what I'd like to hear from a lead vocalist for this kind of music. The good point is that he doesn't sing too often and Susie gets more lead vocal work (so I felt anyway). But how strong Steve is as a vocalist becomes a negligible concern as the album rolls on. As is usual for Glass Hammer, they very naturally write and produce some far out classic-prog-inspired symphonic prog. Aside from the rumbling and outstanding bass playing, you'll get a great blend of organ and guitar solos, and lengthy songs that cover different changes in music. There's pretty; there's almost a light Beatle-esque pop approach; there are ELP moments, hints of Pink Floyd keyboards in a place or two, and some music that goes a little darker and harder or heavier than what I've heard in the past.

I made some notes as I listened to this album for the second time recently (not counting the times I heard it last year) and it seems I have noted that "Golden Days" could be my favourite track, or maybe it's the 14-minute "No Man's Land" which is a true epic with some many changing parts, or it's "Fog of War" for its darker parts, or maybe it's the surprising change toward more dramatic music from lighter in "Dead and Gone". But then "Eucastrophe" features a beautiful acoustic intro with a dynamic organ/bass/drum passage coming in. "Nexus Girl" is a unique piece on this album and reminds me a bit of Nine Inch Nails in their softer, quieter moments.

So, this is the album that has reawakened my interest in Glass Hammer. It is not something grand and new and mind-blowing but "Valkyrie" has proved to me that Glass Hammer are capable of surprising me in a very positive way.

With plenty of intricately-layered melodies, making full use of various instruments and multiple singers, Glass Hammer's sound, described as "symphonic prog", is as grandiose and epic as you can imagine. With interesting harmonies and some well thought-out lyrics, it's a shame that progressive rock, a genre that should be so appealing to so many people, is so easily overlooked.

Featuring some true gems such as 'So Close, So Far', 'Run Lisette' and the centerpiece of the album, 'Behind the Great Beyond', Glass Hammer's 'Shadowlands' is an awe-inspiring effort, which doesn't come across as pompous or self- indulgent. It's just one epic after another. The production does a fine job of giving every instrument enough clarity without being overbearing, which is quite a feat when there's so many things going on at any one time.

A true marvel of symphonic prog, this album is an absolute joy to listen to, and an essential addition to the collection of anyone who yearns for those classic days of yesteryear, when bands like Yes, King Crimson and ELP were all the rage.

The Inconsolable Secret doesn't seem to be well-known enough to garner the reputation it deserves. Curiously, it's not had much attention on Progarchives, but it's currently rated 4.5 stars on Amazon. I consider this a masterpiece and one of my all-time favorite albums. The effort that went into producing TIS is evident from the Tolkien-like backstory by Babb (available as a separate CD/book - 'The Lay of Lirazel'), Roger Dean album artwork, packaging - and then re- packaging with updated re-recordings featuring Davison/Shikoh. The original version of TIS comes as a double album (13 tracks) and runs over 95 minutes of music. I'm usually wary of double albums, as they tend to get diluted or stretched a bit thin (The Wall?, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway? Tales from Topographic Oceans?). That's not the case here. Almost every track is a classic - and each forms part of the story, which is quite epic in its own right. (I've always felt TIS would make a great movie!) One small point of confusion for me is that the tracks appear to be, chronologically, slightly out of order. For example, the album opens with "A Maker of Crowns", but it's really "Long and Long Ago" that sets the scene. I presume tracks were re-ordered to fit more easily on the LPs/CDs? In any case, the structure is that disc 1 contains the two longest tracks, "A Maker of Crowns" and "The Knight of the North". These are both prog masterpieces. A Maker of Crowns starts out with piano, but Fred switches up his keyboard sounds throughout, so they never sound dull or repetitive. I love the tone of the synth keyboard solo at 10:00. Schendel's keyboards are second to none. He has the technical virtuosity of the likes of Rick Wakeman or Lyle Mays, but is also able to play in a way that touches your soul. There's an emotion in his playing that I've never heard that consistently in any other keyboard player. Next up, "The Knight of the North" starts with perhaps a slightly unconventional sound of bass playing over a string section. This is one of the finest moments of symphonic rock I've ever heard. It's not terribly complex musically, but it just works. The same track also finishes with a pretty loop of all instruments covered by choral vocals - one of the most epic-sounding pieces since Yes' Awaken.

"Long and Long Ago" introduces the main theme which eventually gets reprised at the end of the album. One of the best tracks on the album with great instrumental solos and outstanding vocals, particularly from Flo Paris. (BTW, try to name the Yes track at 7:00!) "The Morning She Woke" is a shorter track that picks up the narrative of the story, with Susie taking the role of the King's daughter. "Lirazel" is another shorter track that expands on that main keyboard theme, before Susie picks up more of the narrative. "The High Place" has some of the most beautiful, gentle instrumentation and choral work. Very atmospheric. "Morrigan's Song" has a slightly Celtic sound. I think Fred would call this an interstitial piece, but it's very cute in its own right. "Walking Towards Doom" is an atmospheric instrumental with some spooky choral work which sets a scene of foreboding. You know something bad is going to happen... Mog Ruith picks up the tempo with some up-beat keyboards, which is a bit ironic, because from my recollection of the story, Mog Ruith is where our heroine meets her nemesis. "Through a Glass Darkly" seems to be a fan favorite, and rightly so. It's one of the prettiest pieces on the album with gorgeous harp, strings and vocals from Susie. (Without ruining the story for you, things aren't going too well for the heroine at this point.) "The Lady Waits" is a tasteful string piece that continues the slightly sombre mood, but with some really pretty classical music in the middle. This leads to "The Mirror Cracks" - a brass/harp/string choral lead in to some very tense, doom-laden, dramatic-sounding music which is basically a prelude to the (eventual) happier ending of "Having Caught a Glimpse". This final track is the highlight of the album for me. The build-up and vocals are stunning and the keyboard re-cap of the melody from "Long and Long Ago" with the added choral vocals is just stunning. One of the best endings to one of the best albums I've ever heard. An easy 5 stars.

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P.S. TIS is now available in a deluxe version which has re-recordings of Long and Long Ago, The Morning She Woke, A Maker of Crowns, The Knight of the North and Having Caught a Glimpse. These are all great new recordings with additions from Kamran Alan Shikoh and Jon Davison - totally worth having, but I still prefer the originals. As good as JD is, Walter Moore's and particularly Flo Paris' original vocals are some of the most haunting I've ever heard. Thankfully, with the deluxe version, you get both versions :-)