GLASS HAMMER

I'm still feeling a little bit guilty that I left such a scathing review here for Valkyrie. I'm sure GH have enough confidence, artistic integrity and independence that they'd totally ignore anything I'd say, but the complaints I had about Valkyrie (dirgy sound-effects, total lack of melody, choice of lead vocalist, etc.) have all been addressed and fixed here :-) Chronomonaut is packed full of wonderful tunes; Susie takes a more prominent role in both lead vocal, backing vocal and vocalizations, and the result is a shift from an album that had barely one listenable track on it to an album that doesn't have a weak spot anywhere. The imagination and creativity behind the concept makes the album a lot of fun too (a follow-on to the story of Tom from Chronomotree), but there are also parts that are much more haunting and tug on the heart-strings way more than anything on Valkyrie (which was supposed to have had the more poignant theme). It's not that I don't want Steve or Fred to sing ever again - it's just that I feel their strongest talents lie elsewhere. I didn't mind their lead vocal roles on albums like Lex Rex, but that material was so strong that it would probably have sounded amazing even if I'd taken lead vocals. The songs on Valkyrie just weren't up to that level. Chronomonaut is a much stronger album than Valkyrie, but I like the Glass Hammer flavor that comes through with Steve and Fred on backing vocals.

Musically, the only part of Chronomonaut that reminds me of Chromonotree is the first few opening bars of the piano, in "The Land of Lost Content". Clever title, which I guess we're supposed to be able to read in one of two ways? From the piano introduction, this breaks into some organ chords, pretty lyric-less vocalizations from Susie and some wonderful proggy guitar overlays. This is one of many highlights on this album.

"Roll for Initiative" starts off with the classic Glass Hammer bass/keyboard, with another lead vocalist added to the Glass Hammer collection. (I believe this is Patton Lock here.) He sounds fine. But I still miss Flo Paris (dang, she was awesome). And Jon Davison (surely he's now regretting leaving Glass Hammer? It's quite depressing to hear what has become of his "new" band). In any case, this track sets the narrative for the story, with a good amount of classic Glass Hammer instrumentation supporting the vocals.

"Twilight of the Godz" is one of my favorite tracks. Just gorgeous guitars, vocals, beautifully recorded and performed. There are stand-out, atmospheric performances from Susie all over this track. Just awesome.

"The Past is Past" is a heavily jazz-influenced track. Wonderful saxophone and brass sections make for an interesting diversion from the more typical prog-rock sound. Matthew Parmenter takes lead vocals on this one and hijacks the narrative with an interesting and expressive twist. It's quite a long track, with some curious keyboard and vocal diversions around the 7 minute mark. Lots of imaginative writing here.

"1980 Something" - another cool track title! This one takes a turn for the mellower with acoustic guitar and Susie singing (initially through some kind of vocoder?). Again, Susie does a fantastic job even when she doesn't actually have any words to sing. Look out for the nice spacey keyboards and guitar solo, plus more lyric-less Susie around 3:40. Another great track.

"A Hole in the Sky" is more of a pop/rock-sounding track, with Susie taking a back-seat on vocals.

"Clockwork" is the most amazing instrumental that Alan Parsons Project never wrote. I love the super-atmospheric keyboards. It's only a short track, but it's awesome.

"Melancholy Holiday" seems to have been the one track GH decided to make into a video. I think this was the first track I saw as a teaser for the album. It's a slower track that appears to be featuring Susie on both lead and backing vocals, with a sort of spooky keyboard sound in the background. Very pretty.

"It Always Burns Sideways" is another of my favorite tracks. It's an instrumental featuring heavier guitar riffs that remind me of Porcupine Tree on a good day. Then half-way through, it starts to sound like Camel (also on a good day), before the introduction of some wonderful keyboard tones. This may be a minor point, but if there's one thing I'd change on this album, I'd like to have heard a little more like this from Fred's keyboards. I feel like the heart of Glass Hammer has always been the combination of Steve's bass with those amazing overlaid keyboard tones and tunes. Schendel is one of my all-time favorite keyboard players. He has the technicality of players like Lyle Mays, but also an ability to create amazing tunes and amazing keyboard tones. (As much as I love Rick Wakeman, this is a talent he never had.) Schendel could literally break your heart with the emotional impact he puts into playing one note. What a great track this is.

"Blinding Light" again starts with that jazz influence and (I think) Patton Locke's return to lead vocals. It sounds like a part 2/sequel to "The Past is Past". The brass (trumpet) backing in this track is a highlight for me. (Big Big Train regularly do an awesome job of melding brass band sounds with prog rock. It's something that just really works.)

"Tangerine Meme" is an obvious nod to another famous band. Brilliantly done, very atmospheric with all the sound effects, and surprisingly original, yet clearly in the style of somebody other than Glass Hammer :-) (I recently heard the new Cosmograf album and the last track on that album - Goodbye To All Illusions- has a similar electronica-type vibe. Both Cosmograf and, here, Glass Hammer make it work remarkably well.)

"Fade Away" is the highlight of the album for me. Amazing, epic-sounding track with so much emotion in it. It's built up through several sections, each of which is fantastic. I especially love the symphonic prog sections and the keyboards. All the vocalists are absolutely on top form here. This is as strong as any track Glass Hammer have ever written.

This is definitely a return to form and if not their best album, then certainly the best album they've released in many, many years. Congrats 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.