ROCKET SCIENTISTS

Rocket Scientists' "Oblivion Days" laid for a long time in the laboratory, on the desk near the test tubes, waiting to catch my attention once again, this time for a review that may win my fancy. Okay, you seduced me with keyboardist Erik Norlander's presence in the Roswell 6 configuration and I am ready to turn back the clock, you flirty vibe, you. After a bombastic synth fanfare introduction, the razor sharp "Aqua Vitae" marches through the now open door and head straight for the jugular with a visceral bass exercise, ricochet- ing drum patterns and wet synth solos. Oh yeah and heavy crunching guitars !!!! The vocals are emotionally effective especially on the deafening chorus while the soloists really cut loose with unabashed fury. Yes, I like it rough from time to time (not such a mushy romantic after all!) especially when replete with various contrasts (like on the breezy Beatlesy mid-section drenched in 70s psychedelia) that constantly keeps you unaware of the next twist and turn. The finale is even stormier than before, hard and fast. Wow! Rush's "Tom Sawyer" for a few secs and then the marshalling goose step slams into the title track's raw disposition with little frill, closer to Rainbow and Ayreon than anything else out there. No surprise that Arjen Lucassen is featured guest all over the tracks .Great melody, utter pomposity, even grandiose at times with a rather bleak subject matter (not hard to guess either!), all this crap about Armageddon, 2012, December 21 and it's over babe! Hey guess what? Doomsday was the second favorite subject 10.000 years ago and ever since (first is love), so let's be clear: it will never end, regardless what Jim Morrison said aloud. Fabulous tune. "Archimedes" is an ancient Greek history icon, so typically a source for Prog , sounding like a rougher, harsher Alan Parsons Project gone haywire with all kinds of spurts and dashes. Not as good as the previous trio. "Banquo's Ghost" is an amazing and refreshing gallop that is pure ear candy, close to recent RPWL or early Porcupine Tree, absolute prime vocals and applied spotlight solos by all. "Space 1999" is exactly that , a romping cosmic adventure that rehashes a recognizable theme from a sci-fi TV show and rearrange it sympho-prog style , with lush orchestrations (real and synthesized). Amazing and fun stuff! Then we have the epic just in case someone may forget that they are definitely prog and not the Ramones! "Escape" is a fiery effort with all kinds of scenic sounds from marimba-like intonations, space whispers and hearty grooves from keyboardist Norlander and some inspired guitar phrasings from Mark McCrite and Lucassen, burning solos and battleaxe riffs combining in the arena. Fascinating! "Compass Variation" is again aptly titled, as it veers into a glossier expanse, sweet elegant leads, jangling rhythms and pleading vocals. Very nice indeed. The axe solo is superbly bluesy and heartfelt while the brooding Hammond growls in apparent despair. "Breaking the Silence" is a methodical bulldozer from the outset that fails not to appeal and the disc closes with another lengthy instrumental, a close cousin of the opening theme. Two live bonus tracks are included, showcasing the raw live in concert sound. A very good heavy prog case study that warrants your attention, lab rats. 4 LED lights

3.5 rounded to 4

Excellent progressive rock band from early '90's who combines a solid hevy prog arrangements with symphonic elements. This is their third album from 1999 named Oblivion days and is , at least for me the best they ever done so far. A little more pretentious and more heavy in places this album never stop amazed me afte 10 years of first issue. With a bunch of high class musicians like Erik Norlander on keys , his wife Lana Lane on some vocal parts, his mate Arjen Anthony Lucassen who plays guitar this time not keys as we used to here him on other albums and projects, on of the most brilliant bass players in prog music and not only Tony Franklin and the drumer Tommy Amato , the only guy from the line up notknown by me. The main voice of the album of Mark McCrite did a great job, from soft moments to more rougher this guy shows truly talent in his voice. The music from this album as I said is a little more rougher in places than the predecesors, maybe because Norlander now has a more heavier side in manner of composing after release some solo albums under his name, from time to time I had the impression I'm listning to Lana Lane albums or some Erik Norlander solo releases, ok not band but a little more originality worth having. Anyway a solid album with a lot to offer from fast keys to even some electronic aproach in places, not much but there is, some ELP moments , some fine pieces are Aqua vitae, Oblivion days, Archimedes Space 1999, the resta re ok. So 3.5 rounded to 4, a great album, not a masterpiece but worth having.

After a long absence, ROCKET SCIENTISTS released their fourth album, Revolution Road in 2006. Musically, it follows in the same vein as Oblivion Days, but also explores several different avenues.

The band is joined by new drummer Gregg Bissonette, along with an appearence from Simon Phillips and the late Shaun Guerin on ''Better View. Another new element, which I found very interesting and entertaining was the recruitment of new vocalist David McBee, who brings a hard rock vibe to the table with his gruff vocals on six of the songs. I think that this keeps things fresh, and to be truly progressive, a band must tread into new territories.

Their signature sound is still present, from the hard rock/ metal vibes of ''Sky is Falling'' and ''Dream in Red'', and the ballads like ''Enjoy the Weather'' and ''Better View''. Don Schiff proves he is still one of the best Stick maestros around on cuts like ''Outside the Painted Walls'' and ''Hold That Thought'', while Erik Norlander stakes his claim on ''Look Up'' and ''Ptolemy''. Mark McCrite's guitar skills are as good as ever, especially on their cover of the Moody Blues' ''Gypsy''. And as always, his vocals are soothing and easy on the ears.

All in all, this is ROCKET SCIENTISTS' best album. Just one listen of the soft epic ''After the Revolution'', and listening to all of the diversity present on Revolution Road, it's hard to argue.

NOTE: Taken from my review of 'LOOKING BACKWARD'.

Rocket Scientists' third album is their heaviest, oftentimes bordering on progressive metal. Since I'm an avid listener of prog metal, this release no doubt jumps out at me the most. OBLIVION DAYS opens atmospherically with ''Dark Water Part Three: Neptune's Sun'' with Norlander having a little bit of fun before segueing into the heavy ''Aqua Vitae'', opening with a very distorted bass line. Here, the mood for the rest of the album is set. Heavy guitars with a nice warm, yet light crunch, pounding drums, flowing bass and Stick, with Erik Norlander's signature keyboards. On top of that are Mark McCrite's warm Beatles-esque vocals. The title track continues in the same vein as ''Aqua Vitae'', also carrying the apocalyptic concept present in the aforementioned songs and ''Break the Silence''. ''Archimedes'' is a groovy prog instrumental, much like ''Copernicus'' from BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE. ''Escape'' is the epic of the album, and is very depressing at first until picking up the pace a bit. ''Banquo's Ghost'' is very decieving, starting out gently before abruptly switching into one of the best instrumental passages in RS's history. ''Space:1999'' and ''Compass Variation'' are nice little tunes too, with the latter showing wonderful guitar acrobatics from McCrite. ''Break the Silence'' is a very somber song about the eventual end of days. Finally, ''Dark Water Part Four: Heavy Water'' lulls the listener into a false sense of security with lush keyboards before becoming a straightforward metal song. The last two bonus tracks aren't that great, although I prefer the live version of ''Wake Me Up''. I recommend this album to the metalheads out there. Not to be missed!

NOTE: Taken from my review of 'LOOKING BACKWARD'.

This album showcased the ideal Rocket Scientists sound. It's the first album to exclusively feature Don Schiff's amazing Chapman Stick skills, and the only album not to feature any other guest musicians, except for Norlander's wife, Lana Lane. Here, RS show their truly progressive side, with more instrumentals, and much longer songs. Right off the bat, BA opens with ''Dark Water Part One'', a chance to let Erik Norlander spread his wings a bit with lush atmosphere. After that is ''Wake Me Up'', where we get to hear Don Schiff put his Stick to good use, although Tommy Amato's drums seem a little bit forced at first. ''Copernicus'' is a rather funky tune, while the title track is a laidback number. ''Nether'' and ''Dark Water Part Two'' are some more instrumentals to chew on before coming the piano ballad that is ''The Fall of Icarus''. ''Resolution'' is a nice pick-me-up after that, but ''Rainy Days & Pastel Grays'' is an absolutely beautiful piece of music that picture some guy would probably sing to some girl to woo her. I would. ''Millennium 3'''s chorus is impossible to shake out of your head, with Schiff's impeccable Stick laying down a good rhythm. The sad ballad ''Mariner'' follows, which didn't really impress me too much, but neither did the bonus track ''Stardust''. All in all, a very nice album to listen to on a rainy day. Just don't forget your pastel grays!

NOTE: Taken from my review of 'LOOKING BACKWARD'

Rocket Scientists' debut release. Of all of their releases, EARTHBOUND is the odd one of the bunch. It's not very progressive at all, instead showing a more 80's poprock influence (just listen to some of Norlander's keyboard accents). Also, Don Schiff only uses the Stick on three of the songs here, instead using a regular bass or sometimes a fretless (like on Down Trodden). Many of the songs are also shorter, and are written with commercialness in mind. The album's best moment comes with their cover of Pink Floyd's ''Welcome to the Machine'', the poppy ''Picture Show'', and the proggiest moment of the album: the 57-second instrumental ''Pythagoras''. This album is a bit of an aquired taste, but will still prove to be one of their most unique releases.

Revolution Road garnered many very favorable reviews after it was released, some of them so effusive that you just had to look into it. I was a bit skeptical and went for the $10 download off iTunes and am glad I didn't pay full freight for the double CD. Of course when you see some very well respected sites giving out perfect scores for Snakes and Arrows and 10010110, you realize that you have to take everything with a grain of salt.

This album is prog by the numbers and is a double album that falters under its own weight. I am a fan of double albums and rarely say they should be cut down. This one should have but not because of weak and strong tracks. It is more because the whole thing really does not have enough variety to keep your attention. Erik Norlander is a talented man but he and his mates just went overboard here with the formula. The keyboard leads all have the same tone. The tempo varies little. The vocals are kind of grating after a while. The ballad-y songs are nothing special. The gimmicky songs wear thin fast. There are good moments and songs that get your feet tapping. There are some nice melodies. They occasionally have a metal edge that can be pleasant. The production and playing are all well done. But after several listens, I just have an empty feeling after every one. And sitting through the last song, a 13-minute mid-tempo instrumental does nothing to fill that emptiness.

I have not heard any other full albums from the band but this style may be for fans of The Moody Blues or maybe Saga. Norlander flexes his keyboard chops here to quite an extent, but it is the song writing that holds this one back. I had high hopes going in and from the little I had heard from Norlander and Lana Lane thought this was sure to be a winner. But instead I am waffling between 2 and 3 stars. I suppose it falls closer to other 3 star albums I have reviewed than the 2 star ones, so we will go with 3.

— First review of this album —

As I said before in my review for Earth Below and Sky Above, I have only recently become interested in Rocket Scientists. The best place to start as of late is the new box set LOOKING BACKWARD. This 5- disc set came about as a result of the band's entire 90's studio back catalog going out of print. Bandleader and keyboardist Erik Norlander decided the best way to reissue those albums would be to remaster all 3 of the albums (their 1993 debut, EARTHBOUND; their 1995 sophomore effort, BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE; and their third album, 1999's OBLIVION DAYS), add on a disc of rerecordings from 2007, AND a DVD of candid studio footage dating from 1993-2007, an interview with Stick genius Emmett Chapman, and the 2007 Sessions plus interview segments all shot by HD film crews. PLUS, a nice little 64-page book chock-full of lyrics, pictures, and commentary of EACH SONG. As Borat would say: VERY NICE! Now onto the review, which I promise will go into great depth about the whole entire release. Here it goes!:

CD 1: LOOKING BACKWARD: THE 2007 SESSIONS - This disc contains mostly rerecordings of songs from the EARTHBOUND era, some remixes, and a couple of new chapters to add to the ''Dark Water'' saga. Here a lot of the songs are quite unique to their original versions, especially ''Picture Show'' whose length has been nearly doubled, thanks to nearly 15 years of playing and perspective. Songs like ''Earthbound'' and especially ''Dark Water Part One'' contain new elements while eschewing some old ones, the latter showcasing the full band near the end. There are also the two remixes of ''Escape'' and ''Break the Silence'', both from OBLIVION DAYS. They aren't too necessary, since they don't sound too different from the originals. Also, there's a version of the song ''Mariner'' with four minutes trimmed off its playing time and featuring the emotive vocals of Kelly Keeling. On this disc, all the musicians are in top form. Especially Erik Norlander and drummer Greg Ellis when performing the new ''Dark Water'' songs. ''Part Five'' showcases Ellis' brilliant percussion skills (if you liked Ellis here, check out his world music project VAS) amid atmospheric Mellotron from Norlander, while ''Part Six'' is a short, ominous drone of atmosphere similar to ''Part One''. This disc is very enjoyable and shows the EARTHBOUND songs with a more prog touch.

CD 2: OBLIVION DAYS - Rocket Scientists' third album is their heaviest, oftentimes bordering on progressive metal. Since I'm an avid listener of prog metal, this release no doubt jumps out at me the most. OBLIVION DAYS opens atmospherically with ''Dark Water Part Three: Neptune's Sun'' with Norlander having a little bit of fun before segueing into the heavy ''Aqua Vitae'', opening with a very distorted bass line. Here, the mood for the rest of the album is set. Heavy guitars with a nice warm, yet light crunch, pounding drums, flowing bass and Stick, with Erik Norlander's signature keyboards. On top of that are Mark McCrite's warm Beatles-esque vocals. The title track continues in the same vein as ''Aqua Vitae'', also carrying the apocalyptic concept present in the aforementioned songs and ''Break the Silence''. ''Archimedes'' is a groovy prog instrumental, much like ''Copernicus'' from BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE. ''Escape'' is the epic of the album, and is very depressing at first until picking up the pace a bit. ''Banquo's Ghost'' is very decieving, starting out gently before abruptly switching into one of the best instrumental passages in RS's history. ''Space:1999'' and ''Compass Variation'' are nice little tunes too, with the latter showing wonderful guitar acrobatics from McCrite. ''Break the Silence'' is a very somber song about the eventual end of days. Finally, ''Dark Water Part Four: Heavy Water'' lulls the listener into a false sense of security with lush keyboards before becoming a straightforward metal song. The last two bonus tracks aren't that great, although I prefer the live version of ''Wake Me Up''. I recommend this album to the metalheads out there. Not to be missed!

CD 3: BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE - This album showcased the ideal Rocket Scientists sound. It's the first album to exclusively feature Don Schiff's amazing Chapman Stick skills, and the only album not to feature any other guest musicians, except for Norlander's wife, Lana Lane. Here, RS show their truly progressive side, with more instrumentals, and much longer songs. Right off the bat, BA opens with ''Dark Water Part One'', a chance to let Erik Norlander spread his wings a bit with lush atmosphere. After that is ''Wake Me Up'', where we get to hear Don Schiff put his Stick to good use, although Tommy Amato's drums seem a little bit forced at first. ''Copernicus'' is a rather funky tune, while the title track is a laidback number. ''Nether'' and ''Dark Water Part Two'' are some more instrumentals to chew on before coming the piano ballad that is ''The Fall of Icarus''. ''Resolution'' is a nice pick-me-up after that, but ''Rainy Days & Pastel Grays'' is an absolutely beautiful piece of music that picture some guy would probably sing to some girl to woo her. I would. ''Millennium 3'''s chorus is impossible to shake out of your head, with Schiff's impeccable Stick laying down a good rhythm. The sad ballad ''Mariner'' follows, which didn't really impress me too much, but neither did the bonus track ''Stardust''. All in all, a very nice album to listen to on a rainy day. Just don't forget your pastel grays!

CD 4: EARTHBOUND - Rocket Scientists' debut release. Of all of their releases, EARTHBOUND is the odd one of the bunch. It's not very progressive at all, instead showing a more 80's poprock influence (just listen to some of Norlander's keyboard accents). Also, Don Schiff only uses the Stick on three of the songs here, instead using a regular bass or sometimes a fretless (like on Down Trodden). Many of the songs are also shorter, and are written with commercialness in mind. The album's best moment comes with their cover of Pink Floyd's ''Welcome to the Machine'', the poppy ''Picture Show'', and the proggiest moment of the album: the 57-second instrumental ''Pythagoras''. This album is a bit of an aquired taste, but will still prove to be one of their most unique releases.

CD 5: The DVD - The main feature of the DVD is the recording of the 2007 Sessions, which was filmed with HDV equipment. It's very interesting to see all of the angles in the recording of the songs. Also strewn about are interview segments which are as informative as they are entertaining. Another feature is an interview with Stick creator Emmett Chapman. We also get to see him play his instrument alongside Don Schiff, plus you will learn so much about the ''standard EC Stick'' and the NS/Stick. Lastly there is the Brief History of Rocket Science segment which shows videoclips from the sessions of all of the Rocket Scientists' studio albums. You gain some witty jokes from Tommy Amato during the EARTHBOUND sessions.

The booklet is absolutely incredible. The artwork is interesting (Mark McCrite with highlights?), the lyrics are accurate, and the commentary of the songs are informative and amusing. Well done guys, you have just reissued your 90's catalog true form. DO NOT MISS THIS!

I have just recently gotten into Rocket Scientists, a very underrated band from California (not the first place that pops into my head as a good prog haven). And normally, I don't hold much for live albums. But ''Earth Below'' has just made its way into my most favorite live album list (which only consists of 3 albnms).

Most of this album was recorded at the German Progressive Rock Festival in Bruschal in September 1997, and a few tracks at a local LA club earlier that month, so most of the tracks covered here are from ''Brutal Architecture'' and ''Earthbound''. Here, the songs take on a new vitality, more energy than their studio counterparts. This is especially true for the two medleys (the ''Prog Medley'' which is made up of the instrumentals ''Pythagoras'', ''Copernicus'', and the title track from ''Brutal Architecure''. This song blew me away, as did the ''Threshold Medley'' (ooooooohhhh boy!), which started out with ''Neurosaur'' before suddenly switching to ''Critical Mass''. Mark McCrite and Tommy Amato add their unique touches to Erik Norlander's electronic masterpiece. Nice!) and ''Dark Water Part One'' which shows McCrite adding his own guitar atmospherics before segueing into the wonderful ''Earthbound''.

Norlander's wife and symphonic rock icon Lana Lane makes an appearance on two songs. Her voice is absolutely stunning.

All in all, Rocket Scientists are a wonderful live band, who adds innvoation and new energy to their songs live. Not to be missed!

Not incredibly symphonic, but at times very good.

ROCKET SCIENTISTS is definitely a band worth checking out. This is the first album I have ever heard from them and I can say it makes for a very enjoyable experience. The best thing about "Revolution Road" is the amount of songs and the healthy variation one can find in these two discs. One can find very simple, straight-forward rock songs, one can find songs that sound more retro, or tracks with a distinct progressive-symphonic flavor, or a few excellent instrumentals where the musicianship of the band shines through, as well as the symphonic roots is built upon.

As I said in the beginning, the symphonic factor in this album is not immediately evident. Most of the songs are, in my view, closer to neo-prog, in my opinion, than to what we traditionally know as symphonic-prog (molded after the giants of the 70's, like YES or GENESIS). If one is to find that sound anywhere on this record, it will be in the excellent instrumentals, the longest and most interesting pieces in the entire "Revolution Road". But the songs are good anyway, symphonic-factor notwithstanding. Most of them have good melodies, memorable choruses and vocal lines, and there's a few jewels like "Better view" which sounds progressive, without necessarily sounding symphonic. The diversity of influences is huge, as one can hear echoes from classics like ELP or the aforementioned bands, and at the same time a heavier, harder-edge rock sound can be felt, in the vein of bands like DEEP PURPLE; as said before, neo-prog touches can be detected, and there are a few riffs that actually sound slightly metal. A good reference for newcomers would be SPOCK'S BEARD: a band that mixes classic progressive elements with a far more accessible approach to rock music. There's even a track where we're strongly reminded of space-rock/metal great AYREON, which shouldn't come as a surprise as Norlander has collaborated with Arjen Lucassen in a few occasions.

The musicianship is quite good, especially from seasoned-master Erik Norlander on keyboards and Don Schiff in the Chapman Stick. The vocals are good but lack force at some moments. The drumming is very precise if rather unimpressive, especially coming from a legend like Gregg Bissonette. The track "Better View" features two different drummers, drum-giant Simon Phillips in the intro and outro of the song, probably playing the most interesting fills of the whole record, and Shaun Guerin, who was going to be the band's drummer but passed away before production, in the middle section.

All in all, a terrific collection of songs, with variety and enough progressive elements to warrant more than a few very compelling listens. The album will take a long, long time to get old, and it's for that reason that I raise the rating from the 3.5 it deserves due to a few minor flaws to a 4, as it's an excellent addition to any collection.