GLASS HAMMER

Song-wise, this is a bit harder to deconstruct due to the songs being based on the same songwriting scheme. As mentioned, each song will have heavily Genesis, Yes, etc inspired passages with frequent use of organ, Mellotron, and synth, as is custom with symphonic prog. Though there really isn't any weak song on the album, I feel as though it could have been shortened slightly, a problem with many modern albums, no doubt. But this problem is minor, especially when considering the phenomenal production and mixing values; everything is clear and the instruments are given plenty of breathing room.

The highlight of the album is probably the final epic track, 'If the Sun,' which seems like an endless stream of high energy, catchy melodies, but also includes some deep, atmospheric parts as well.

What this album lacks in adventurous music, it makes up for in its melodies and lush atmosphere. If you like catchy melodies one after another, all played in a highly symphonic fashion with superior production, and don't mind the overall derivative nature, then this album is certainly for you.

8/10

But in no way is that going to detract from what is a quite superb album. It is multi-faceted and multi-layered and given that it is basically all the work of just two people (Steve Babb and Fred Schendel) the accomplishment is even more remarkable. When I played this the first time I put it on immediately after playing The Flower Kings, and I was struck by just how different the two albums were. This also brings in many strands and musical styles but they all become part of the overall theme instead of trying to take over the piece. Both guys are strong singers, as well as good musicians and this is an album that I have really enjoyed playing. It is prog that while often based on keyboards also has a strong guitar element and manages to be all things to all progheads as those who want shorter songs can have them while those who want long instrumental passages are also catered for.

It may have been six years since I last reviewed a Glass Hammer album but yet again I find myself recommending that all proggers get hold of this as soon as possible. Visit the band web site at www.glasshammer.com.

Originally appeared in Feedback #70, Oct 02

Glass Hammer consistent lack of passion finally comes to an end. That could be a great news, but the problem is, even if "One" was published in 2010, in fact they are the very first compositions of the band, this time as a duo by its core musicians. When I hear this magnificent (althought simply arranged) album, there's a lot of questions that come to my mind. The more important two are: why didn't they follow this path? Because the music accomplished here is a lot different than any other GH albums (which were composed afterwards), and in this case, the lack of passion (which, in my humble opinion, is the very setback of GH music) is notably absent, and gives way to a construction simple but very connected between tracks. The second question is: after making this, how could they have donesuch a horrible mess as "Journey of the Dunadan"? The answer, I think, lies in their desire to make "complex" music such as their master influences (mainly Yes, but also ELP and, very scarcely, Genesis) and to imitate them. That's why they didn't keep in touch with their own spirit and lost their way. "Chronometree" was a great album, but lacks passion. "Three chears for the broken-hearted" was a good effort (unlike other members, I really enjoyed it), but they are constantly restraining themselves in the composition. "If" was a great album, but it was a YES album, even if Yes didn't make it themselves. Here is where the real Glass Hammer lies. It's a pity it didn't stay afterwards. I really hope someday they'll be reborn.

Grossly neglected by the audience. Five stars for me.

What a beautiful music. it's purring like balsam on the wounds. Vocal is outstanding (just a sample, how history repeats itself); organ and bass work is excellent. Entire album is great, especially last 2 songs (about 35 min) - real masterpieces of prog rock, not less. The more you listen to it, the more you like it. Since release of Close to the Edge a lot of musicians were fascinated and inspired by it. However, nobody came so close and did it so well, as Glass Hammer with their last 3 albums. Artwork is remarkable, as well. as the music. It deserves to be at least on cardboard sleeves.

This album is recommended for Yes fans and for all complex symphonic prog lovers. What, if you're not one of them? Then, it is not necessary to leave your review.

When Glass Hammer said "If", it means: If this album was done by Yes with Anderson vocal, how would you rate it? In other worlds: Is it fair to rate the same music differently, depending on the group name? Is this "buy or die" album? For those, who want that the song never ends, it is. 5 golden stars.

As I see it... With their last 3 albums, guys tried to bring old Yes sound to new level. And in most songs they succeeded, especially in this album, where strings and chores added more layers to the sound. It sounds very dynamic, powerful and gentle at the same time - "intelligent rock", if you will (I picked up somewhere such a word). It is Symphonic Prog of highest caliber. Thanks to stunning vocal, it's definitely early Yes, but 100% ORIGINAL - and that what matters. The same thing could be said about Agents of Mercy toward to Genesis. Having vocalists so close to Andersen and Gabriel, guys from both groups are enjoying to recreate old sound and carrying it on.

It's all about Love and Tradition. Love to our old Prog and carrying on its great Tradition. Thank you guys for been so brave to do that on a such high level. Please don't give up. Only one complain I have: it's a guy on the cover... I am covering him with my finger right now, and the cover looks way better. Someday, when you will reissue this album in digibook with SACD, please take this "backdoor man" out. 5 shiny stars.

"If" is yet another concept album from Glass Hammer, but what's different here, is that the story is mainly open to interpretation. It is based upon one's search for self meaning, a common theme of prog concept albums. The lyric's are beautifully written, and much more subtle then their previous efforts. Jon Davidson's voice communicate the story rather nicely. There are no tracks that stick out as the "standout", but that is not a bad thing, in fact it makes the album more consistent. What I love about this album, is that the themes are often repeated. Quite often in progressive rock and metal, the themes get lost in the strive for technical showcasing. At times Glass Hammer have been guilty of this (not always) but this album is very consistent due to the emphasis on melodic and rhythmic themes.

Last of all, I want to express my annoyance at the constant comparisons to Yes, no matter how deserving. Yes is to Symphonic Prog as Dream Theatre is to Prog Metal - pioneers of their genre, and it is only natural for a band to acknowledge their influences.

I recommend this album to any fan of any type of progressive music, particularly to fan's of Yes and classic Glass Hammer. Peace!

Their are two downsides to this concert. The first is that I personally would have preferred for the band to have played the full album in it's entirety, and the second is that the picture quality is poor (though this does add charm to the recording). But while the picture quality of the footage is poor, but the sound quality isn't bad. The angles of the footage are good as they give a good idea of the musicianship of the band. What makes this piece of footage so unique and watchable, is how relaxed and happy the band members are playing their music. It makes you feel like you are part of the band.

This performance gets 4 stars. A great companion to the studio album.

I am surprised that this album is not rated into the top 100 prog albums. This is one of my personal favourite albums of all time, but I guess this is just one of those albums that I just instantly loved. The musicianship of the group at this point was incredible, and the blend of driven rock riffs, neo-classical and european folk influences, odd time signatures, jazz chord progressions and mythical storytelling only add to the superb surrealism that the band had set in its early years.

The album is a concept album about a roman soldier's encounter with Jesus. Many may find the concept and storyline of the album overpowering, but it will be very enjoyable to those who are fans of concept albums and who do not mind an underlying christian message. The album is by no means a gospel album; in fact many people claimed it to be overly inspired by the likes of Yes and Genesis. I however think that this album is quite original and I believe that Glass Hammer are the leading prog/symphonic rock band around today.

The whole album is a masterpiece, but I think I prefer the first half of the album. The standout tracks are "Tales of the Great Wars", "One King", "Further Up and Further In" and "When We Were Young". You can buy this album directly from their site and some albums come in package deals, so there is hardly a reason not to buy it. I think that this album would be perfect on vinyl, as it is so obviously split into two sides, so let's hope for a vinyl rerelease!

This album is a great listen and everyone should give it at least a few listens!

Peace!

Am quite happy with this album even though it was quite hard at first spin trying to understand the album until third spin or so. I finally realized the reason why it was quite hard it penetrated into my mind. Yeah, it's basically the preconception that Glass Hammer is a reincarnation of legendary Yes prior to 90125 album. So when I spun the album I always tried to compare every single thing presented here with what Yes dis in the past. Where is the walking basslines like Squire did in vintage Yes? Where is inventive guitar fills like Steve Howe did? Where is the punchy keyboard lines like Wakeman or Moraz (sorry for not to mention Downes) who really characterized the music of Yes? I was trapped by my own definition of reincarnation of Yes. Yes, I could fine vocal similarity of Jon Davison and Jon Anderson even though Jon ANderson is much powerful and clearer. But hey ... Why do I make my own confusing comparison? And then I started the fourth spin.... It relieved me really ....

As I wrote in previous review of Glass Hammer album: "Musically, Cor Cordium is quite simpler than classic Yes albums but the overall composition is really nice. One peculiar thing that I can observe at first spin is the guitar playing style that is different from Steve Howe. As I play the music quite often, I realize that I like this album and in some points I do not really care whether or not this album is like Yes replica" So is with this Perilous album, it's basically in similar vein than Cor Cordium. The good thing about this latest album is that the music flows really nicely from start to end in a seamless fashion or at least I do not really care about the change from one track to another as it flows nicely. So you got my point that the composition handles the transition pieces beautifully. I only paid attention to it when I spun the album and tried to find out the name of the opening track and I found that I was already at track three: The Restless Ones. This is one thing that I need to pinpoint as the beauty of any prog music offering is on the artist handles the transition pieces. If the listeners cannot notice the change to another track that means the composition has very good structural integrity and overall it sounds like a cohesive offering by the band. It happens here with Perilous.

Take an example now when the album arrives at short instrumental track "The Years Were Sped" it introduced with simple acoustic guitar fills that represent the entry of tis track without me having noticed that at the end of the fifth track "We Slept, We Dreamed" there were a very nice choirs that brings the track to the end and finally, smoothy transferred to the short bridge "The Years Were Sped" which demonstrates a very nice instrumental work. The bridge then proves its effectiveness when the succeeding track, even though there is a short break "Our Foe Revealed " which has great and solid bass lines combined with very nice and inventive keyboard solo. Woooow!!! I love this seventh track - especially when I just enjoy the music as Glass Hammer music and no comparison with Yes or whatsoever! In fact if we want to compare with Yes, it surpasses (musically) the quality of any Trevor Rabin era of Yes. So I do not blame any of you who consider Glass Hammer is the reincarnation of Yes as the music is really excellent!!

When Yes toured Asia-Australia and made a gig here in Jakarta in April 24, 2012 at JW Marriott Hotel, during the press conference I stood up made my comments to Jon Davison that I am a big fan of Glass Hammer and liked their Cor Cordium album. Jon was pleased (even though Chris did not seem quite happy with my "out of Yes" comment) with my comments and I really hoped that the next albums would be at par excellent as Cor Cordium. They did! This Perilous album is at least at the same quality as the previous and in fact slight better, I believe.

As I am writing this review I play the album through my iPod and now I am reaching track 8 with no sense of being bored with the music. Yes. I have to admit that overall there is proximity with Yes especially with the Jon Anderson-like vocal style. At the eighth track "Toward Home We Fled" I find guitar fills in a bit complex style like Howe's playing even though it's quite short. But the sounds of organ / keyboards are really good and promising.

Overall I can say this is an excellent addition to any prog music collection with excellent composition and good performance. On composition the music flows nicely from one segment to another with good harmony. Most of tracks have memorable melodies and there are changes in mood and styles throughout the music that make up a dynamic composition. The keyboard / organ plays dominant role even though guitar and bass lines are also contributing quite significant way. It's not something that essentially the same with Yes but there is no harm associating the music with Yes. Look at the ending tracks "The Wolf Gave Chase (1:59) - We Fell At Last (1:56) - In That Lonely Place (6:10) - Where Sorrows Died and Came No More (6:34)" that are really excellent and there is no way to compare with any composition by Yes. It's highly recommended album! Keep on proggin' ...!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW