BRAINSTORM

This is a concept album that takes us to the future near the end of the twenty-sixth century. The Earth lays in ruins, a barren desert as it has been destroyed by war and pollution leaving twenty billion people dead. This is about the survivors who now live on Mars and have struggled to survive. I know it all sounds so bleak but you just have to look on the back of the album cover to see the band in a flying car (Valiant) or on the back inside cover where we see them buried up to their necks in the desert (they are laughing) to know that these guys are not taking this too serious. There is no doubt though that the band has enviromental concerns as witnessed on their "Brainstorm Two-Eart Zero" album, where they had even more fun to go along with the serious message. Well it's been ten years since that album and I feel they have improved in many ways. I like the fact that this record has a concept and that the music doesn't vary much. This is Psychedelic / Spacerock from start to finish. The earlier album had a lot of Rock tunes and not much Spacerock.

"The Light" has a lot of contrasts throughout. It opens with a melancholic mood and a slower pace.The guitar breaks out a couple of times before the synths come in, some aggressive guitar as the drums pound away. A lot of spacey synths are being fired off before we get back to the mellow soundscape from the beginning that again features some guitar breakouts. "Occupation" is not a favourite as it features short outbursts of drums that are followed by the guitar responding, then synths responding, and so on. Too predictible and boring. "Unfathomed Darkness' is an instrumental of acoustic guitar being strummed (at first) accompanied by drums.This is a good tune. "Mutants" is very spacey with psychedelic guitars. Nice. The tempo picks up 4 minutes in as flute is added to the mix. Lots of spacey synths arrive later. I love this stuff !

"Shadow Of The Past" has some really fat bass lines and sweeping synths as the tempo changes quickly and often. "Paradise Lost" features flute and acoustic guitar to create a beautiful melody. Before 4 minutes the vocals come in as well as vocal melodies which are a nice touch. "Martian Chronicle" is a guitar driven tune to start with before the slows down and waves of synths come in. Some vocal melodies, flute and aggressive guitar to follow. "Goblins" is the other instrumental. I like the rhythm they create in this song. "Desert World" is the final track. It has some good vocals as the song seems to drift along. I like the instrumental interlude of flute and synths that starts to build as drums arrive. The ending is long and spacey that just goes on and on.

The acoustic guitar and flute is a welcome addition to the sound of the record. The lead guitar is not the focus here, it's more the synths and drums or percussion. I like this record a lot although I think you need to be a fan of Psychedelic / Spacerock music to really appreciate it. 4 stars.

— First review of this album —

This is what the band refers to as their first "real" album. It's a mixture of straight up rock music and space rock. These Australians are really concerned about the enviroment and so their music is often about this subject. Even the title of this album is a statement of how they feel the earth is doing compared to them. BRAINSTORM two-Earth zero.Yes the earth is taking a beating. The band has received some airplay at home most noteably from the opening track "Freeway". The bands that came to mind as I have listened to this record were MIDNIGHT OIL, MOODY BLUES and HAWKWIND.

"Freeway" is almost the focal point of this album.The song is so infectious and about a Chrysler that is pictured on the back cover of this record. It opens with these ominous synths before becoming an uptempo, fun song. Lots of synths and some good guitar, but it's the lyrics that steal the show here. This is like an ode to his car and how much better it is than other cars, especially chevys. Like I infered in the intro this song will play in your head long after it's over.The song ends with the sound of a car crash. "Vandal's Hymn" on the other hand is a serious song with strummed guitar and passionate vocals. Intense is the word, with more synths.There is mention of Tianmen Square and the Berlin Wall. "No-One Knows" is an energy filled song with drums and guitar leading the way.

"Stasis" is one of my favourite songs. It opens with a thunderstorm as birds are chirp and the rain is pouring down. Acoustic guitar comes in with soft vocals and synths. Nice. "Slow Train Of The Lie" is ok with some piano. As the title suggests this song is about the promises made by world leaders that never materialize. "Back Home On The Terra" opens with flute and is a mellow song. "Triplanetary" has a MOODY BLUES feel to it. Acoustic guitar throughout. This song is another highlight for me. "The Last Long Summer" is a mellow, acoustic folk song. "Anarchy" is ok, while "Tyranny" is like a HAWKWIND tribute song. This one is so unlike any of the previous tunes. The final song "Armageddon" is an epic song at over 20 minutes in length. It's divided into 6 parts. The first section "No Tomorrow" is similar to "Tyranny" but slowed down. Some good bass and spacey synths towards the end. What follows is the sound of the wind blowing before we get into "Morning Red" a dark, spacey section that does get brighter. More ominous sounds follow with acoustic guitar, synths and an atmospheric ending to this great song.

Good record with some variety and thoughtful lyrics.