IZZ

Definitelly IZZ is one of the most pleasant and valuable American bands in today;s progressive world!Thay have already some beautiful albums released,and I am sure a solid base of fans,because their live activity,even not too intense,is at least regular! The albums are self released at their own label and with a better distribution and a solid label behid they would have had a more wide recognition at a higher level !They are simply competent,gifted to deliver a serious musical "offering" to the good prog lovers!This THE DARKENED ROOM is a trully complete album,a very mature one which must put IZZ in the Pantheon of VERY GOOD prog rock bands worldwide!Everything is so well done,starting with the superbe texts and the worked,elaborated and mature melody lines!CAN'T FEEL THE EARTH is a true masterpiece ,with it's 20 minutes timing ,divided into 3 distinctive and separated parts,a central highlight of the album!Sensational inspiration to compose such an inspired moment of true magical touch!Great vocal armonies and majestic musicianship!All the other songs are so inspired and this albumis the fruit of some ygood ears of labour for very good and high quality prog music! 4,5 stars and sinceres congratulations for this sure value of the American prog in the style of Echolyn,Spock's beard and other icons of the genre.

I count this album as one of the most remarkably positive first listens I have ever experienced. Each subsequent listen has only endeared it to me. The instrumentation and arrangements range from the simplistic to the heavily amalgamated, keeping this listener's interest throughout the entire affair. The female singing is a delightful boon throughout, augmenting the vocal lines and sounding wonderful in their own right. To wit, this is a must have- what a treat!

"My River Flows" I was not expecting such heavy rock with such distorted vocals, but that's exactly what comes forth in the beginning. With one raised eyebrow I curiously listened to this track, but after only two listens I began to appreciate the complexities of the song. There's a moderately bizarre synthesizer solo and some strange guitar-led sections (almost King Crimson in flavor). The chorus is remarkable, and overall, this is a great song to display the unique sound and talents of the IZZ crew.

"Late Night Salvation" My favorite track on the album, this features a static guitar run with flowing keyboards and jazzy drumming, very similar to "Heart of the Sunrise" by Yes, but sounding nothing at all like it. The vocal sections are steady, almost dreamy and ELO-like. A complex drum solo (given two percussionists involved, I wouldn't be surprised if this was a duet) consumes a couple of minutes of the track, followed by a bright acoustic-led conclusion. The main theme features a sprightly electric guitar, and there's some exquisite synthesizer and a lead guitar solo adding to the prowess of this enthusiastic track- a real progressive rock homerun.

"Rose Colored Lenses" After such amazing work, it's nice to have a more easily digestible track to keep things well-rounded, and that's exactly what happens here. The chorus is pure magic, reminding me of Yes. This track includes some dazzling piano and a fantastic bass solo. The two guitar solos are biting and masterfully executed, and the synthesizer bit that follows adds even more depth to a track that shows exactly what IZZ is capable of in a brief period of less than four minutes.

"Deception" Acoustic guitar is the prominent feature in the beginning of this one, with two of them playing over a bouncy synthesizer. The bass also maintains a dominant role. Over atmospheric sounds and strings, lovely electric guitar and feminine vocals dance. Screaming guitar alongside independent bass and drums develop the piece further before bringing it back to the beginning.

"Crossfire" Haunting harmonies and delicate piano are juxtaposed with happier, bouncing segments, making this an excitedly varied track. The bass, guitar, and synthesizer are woven together, producing a rich tapestry of music in the middle section, which builds until heavier music ensues. The melody and lyrics remind me very much of Echolyn- yet another work of pure brilliance.

"Anything I Can Dream" This shorter song has a vivacious verse and a smooth chorus, creating a fun and easygoing tune. The verses are somewhat similar to Steely Dan, and the chorus is straightforward acoustic rock with a pleasing melody.

"Abby's Song" This graceful, childlike song features acoustic guitar and lovely electric guitar harmonics. It's a playful bit of music with lovely, meaningful lyrics.

"Deafening Silence" The trio of piano, bass, and drums initially makes me think of Renaissance, especially when the female vocals enter. There's quite a bit of variation in this piece, with synthesizer and swelled guitar giving way to organ, which brings in heavy electric guitar, followed by a calm bass solo. One of the main themes is quite similar to "Silently Falling" by Chris Squire. Powerful, womanly vocals are the fore during the first vocal section. One melody, accompanied by a synthesizer lead playing along note for note, is wild and difficult to follow, but seems to work nonetheless. Delicate piano and beautiful layers of feminine vocals almost have a Celtic feeling. Overall, the whole song is a majestic feast of epic proportions, and a stellar way to end a stellar album. Sure the title is unimaginative, but the music is definitely not.

In my opinion, IZZ is one of the most underrated bands in prog. They are brilliant and are one of the best newcomers to prog in quite some time. My dad purchased this album in preparation for seeing them live at CalProg, and both him and I were blown away by this extremely creative and talented band. I still hold this album in high regard, and consider it a masterpiece along with My River Flows. This album has it all, it weaves its way through many different styles and shows all their many influences. The opener "Spinning Round" took some getting used to. It is an interesting starter because it does not sound anything like the rest of the album. It is a fairly average pop song with a simple drum beat that almost sounds programmed. But, there is a certain charm to this song and I think it is worthy to sit with the rest. The album really kicks off, though, with the title track "I Move" which is a brilliant song that doesn't overstay its welcome like many prog songs do. The guitars are awesome, and John Galgano is able to show his skills on bass and singing. There is also some great keyboard work by brother Tom Galgano. It is a great track!

Which leads right into "Weak Little Lad" with Tom on lead vocals. It is more on the poppier side of IZZ, but it is very catchy and has a cool feel to it. Other highlights include the instrumental "Star Evil Gnoma Su" which is out of this world. It features some virtuoso keyboard work from none other than Tom Galgano. What I love about IZZ is that they showcase their prog influences, but craft it in such a way that it has a modern sound to it, which makes them sound very original. "Another Door" is truly beautiful, Tom Galgano's voice is wonderful and the track is topped off with an incredible guitar solo from Brems. Great stuff! I also love the song "Believe" because it has some fantastic harmonies that gives the band a chance to showcase their excellent female singers.

"Oh, How It's Great!" is a fun, uplifting song that has almost a Beatles feel to it. It is a great prelude to what I consider to be the masterpiece of the album, "Coming Like Light". Tom Galgano is excellent in this track, his keyboard playing sounds like Keith Emerson. The track moves from a frenetic instrumental workout, to a emotional ballad featuring Tom on vocals and keys. I love the space-y feel of the "You Can Make Love" part of the song. It is a fantastic song, and one I'm priveleged to call one of my favorites.

"I Move" is a fantastic album that fits together nicely. I think it is remarkable how IZZ has created an album where each song seems to be in a different style, and yet the album holds together to create one cohesive unit that ties together in a concept. IZZ may have many obvious progressive rock references that they put in their music, but they combine these and put their own modern twist on it in a unique way that is truly satisfying. I am proud to count IZZ as one of my favorite bands and I Move as one of their best albums. They deserve to be a bigger name in prog than they currently are, hopefully that will change in the near future.

IZZ are a NewYork-based band and can be considered as one of the promising hopes of modern progressive rock.The adjectives ''modern'' and ''classic'' seem opposite to each other,but in the case of IZZ that's what they deliver in their debut ''Silver of a sun'' from 1998.Their influences by GENESIS,YES,GENTLE GIANT and E.L.P. are carefully filtrated through the modern sound of rock and,as a result,you can taste an album filled with nice vocal melodies,enough complexity and great arrangements.Some tracks sound like if GENESIS or YES were born in the 90's with elaboarated symphonic orchestration,some others contain complex interplays between guitar/piano/keyboards in the vein of GENTLE GIANT and obscure guitar work reminiscent of ROBERT FRIPP,while there are also some light pop introductions and fusion elements added for good measure.Complexity and accesibility/modern and vintage are nicely ballanced,making ''Silver of a sun'' an easily recommendable release...4 shining stars!

Wow, what a cool album!

Izz comes out with something new and cool that adds a twist to their music. Everything from happy magenta-esk vocals, to shredding guitar leads, and everything in between. My River flows is a pretty fine album that explores the new aspects of Symphonic Prog, and kudos for them for not copying Yes or Genisis, like quite a few Syphonic Prog bands do.

The best track by far on My River Flows is Late Night Salvation. One of my favorite prog songs. The guitar work in the first few minutes is pretty stunning, and the bass line is really cool, and you will be headbanging even after the fast part is over. The rest of the song is pretty mellow, with some energetic sections. There is even a minute or two of pure percussian breakdown (freaking awsome!) The vocals and harmonies are great. The song is just flawless. Another standout song is Rose Colored Lenses

The album as a whole feels pretty complete. My only complaint is Deafening Silence which is just too long and gets pretty boring after a while. They probobly should have put this song in the middle of the album, because I usally listen to all the tracks, and just stop when I get to this one. It would have been better if it was like seven minutes shorter.

The album has a lot of energy, and has a very positive theme. Fans of PORCUPINE TREE, YES, GENESIS, MAGENTA and RUSH. A new album with some new ideas created a strong and energetic release. Best IZZ album SO FAR...

4/5

I wanna say, a department store of melody and sound...without much complexity.

In this work I Move, IZZ can give us many varieties of melody and sound, but I can't feel much difficulty of understanding or complexity of tunes. Why? Maybe their clarity, softness and gentleness make me feel so. Indeed, the previous work Sliver Of The Sun seems to be rustle, unfashionable and unrefined, but I think I Move is more refined and polished. Especially the album-titled track has so eccentric atmosphere but it looks natural. So surprising! Only one song wears full of colours and all of them are on their identity. This song is well worth listening, I'm sure.

Of course, the highlight of this album should be Coming Like Light, as you should say. This song's going is beyond words. Clear piano melody, stream-like voice, and hop'n'jumpin' rhythm section...heavy guitar's and keyboard's shower and storm...and calm and fantastic harmony (HERE I MUST WEEP!) ...last palpitation. What an unusual but terribly terrific song this is!

The harder aspect of their second album I Move is even more accentuated on My River Flows.

This album starts at 200 km/h with the violent title track. The guitar work is absolutely frenetic and I have to say that the rhythmic section is just phenomenal. It is of course quite on the hard side but as I have said, it is not the first time that the band is heading these heavy/hard rock sounds.

The long Late Night Salvation brings us back to a more symphonic and classic style. Vocals a la Yes and fine harmony are welcome but this is also a dual track: the wildest guitar riff along with melodic vocals. The mix is daring I should say.

It also includes some good percussion solo (which is also rare on a studio album) even if it doesn't really fits in this type of number. Maybe that the band intended another Perpetual Change.

We remain in the same Yes territories with the short Rose Coloured Lenses. Fine vocal performance and again an upbeat mood are the standout elements. The very good guitar work is also to be highlighted (but it is a constant on this album).

As if the band is doing this on purpose, the first weaker song is called Deception. Did they realize this while releasing this number? I guess not, but it is how I feel while I 'm listening to it. It is more keyboards oriented and the Anderson-styled vocals are maybe too much by now. The closing part though is a pure marvel though (again Bremner on the lead guitar is extremely inspired just as in the next and brilliant Crossfire).

The epic track of this album is a fine combination of what has been heard previously: nice vocal harmonies, very much Yes oriented instrumental parts (keys, guitar). Bombastic parts are not missing either, but for those of you who have problems with regressive music, this album is definitely not for you.

I have to say that even if this aspect usually worries me quite a bit, I admit that I am more tolerant with this work which is very decent and by far my preferred album from this band. It is even flamboyant at times. But I still don't understand why bands emulating Yes are classified in the symph genre while those emulating Genesis are so called neo-prog.

Four stars.

I am always sceptical with releases combing great left over numbers. Since the history of the band was rather short, some live tracks are added to come up with an appropriate length (over fifty minutes).

So, to my astonishment, the first song Ancient Memory is not bad at all. Vocal harmonies remind Yes and the hard guitar attack is close to what the band had delivered in their second album I Move. The track is elaborate and pleasant. A good left-over I should say. But it is the only one of that class here.

Not that the other songs are bad, but after an OK Afraid to Be Different, the mellowish The Wait Of It All is too sloppy for my ears and the jazzy acoustic One Slice To Go is just a filler.

Confusion is the second good piece of music from Ampersand. The vocal harmonies are beautiful and the music is quite atmospheric. It sounds far much better than the classic rock ballad The Bar Song.

The Crimsonian Razor and Star Evil. are the best moments from this album although I far much preferred the beauty of the latter in its studio version.

In all, this album is for dedicated fans; it doesn't feature a lots of great songs and it is the reason why I rate it with two stars.

The second Izz album sounds much harder than their debut one. Even if the YesSound is very much borrowed again.

I found that the band was hesitant in their first album and I have to say that the direction they took for their second release is not the best orientation I would have thought of.

This album starts as a neo-prog one. From the complex music they played in their debut album (at selected times), the switch is rather dramatic. From a Crimson/Yes combo, they switched to dreadful AOR and uninspired music like featured during the first part of I Wanna Win. To be complete, I have to say that there is a great guitar solo which is featured as well in this song. Some sort of compensation, maybe?

It is a shame because the band had potential but they just threw it away quite miserably during the first five songs or so.

Thr first track during which the band confirms his good aptitudes is Star Evil Gnoma Su. It is a fantastic travel into some of the giants genre (Crimson, Yes). Complex and authentic I would say. It is by far the best and the longest but one track of this album. I just can't understand that Izz didn't investigate more into such powerful and great music. It is THE highlight of course.

A song as the mellow Another Door features such an excellent guitar finale that it also belongs to the best moment of this album. But just for the guitar to be honest. For a change, the band is switching to ELP with Knights Of Nights. It is a rather pompous affair to be honest. But given the average quality of this album, I consider it as one of the best songs available. Gorgeous synthesizers.

Now, if you would like to experience a harder Oldfield, you only need to listen to Mist Of Dalriads. It is a very good and folkish instrumental; pretty upbeat as well. It is another highlight of this work.

This album should have started form Star Evil Gnoma Su (the seventh track featured). It would have clocked to a decent fifty minutes and would avoid the boring part of this album.

A song as Oh, How It's Great conveys such a wonderful feeling, such a passionate guitar and fine vocals. How can the band be so dual? It is really incredible!

The next Coming Like Light just confirms this: it is the epic of the album (almost twelve minutes) and it is a great combination of wonderful and powerful synths and keyboards in general.

Again, the ELP influence is not to be dismissed. Great piano, intricate structure, fantastic musicianship are elements that make you regret the poor start of this album. Crimson is so close as well.What a great combination! Even Yes is coming at the rescue at a certain time. Did you say regressive? Probably. But it is so well performed on this occasion that I can live with it. A highlight as well.

In all, this is a good album which could have been better if it were cut off from the first six or seven songs. Three stars.

This band is not easy to categorize.

While they sound intricate during the excellent opening track which is on par with some KC numbers, they perform more straight-forward and melodic rock music, almost AOR style during I Get Lost. I admit that it is quite difficult to switch from the one to the other.

The mood changes again for Lornadoone which sounds as a folkish tune, with lots of vocal interventions. This album is a journey through some very well known bands like Floyd (She Walked Out The Door) but this is just exaggerated while playing Assurance. This long piece of music switches from influence too many times (the usual suspects: Floyd, Yes, Genesis) and therefore is rather a kaleidoscope of short parts rather than a song on its own.

The instrumental Double Bass is an hymn to Chris Squire, doubled with ELP-ish keyboards. The same hesitant approach persists. The band is again inspired during the very good Razor: it is one of the most complex songs from this album and it is flirting again with the Crimson repertoire. It is one of the (two) highlights. This is a good debut but the band should decide which way they want to go for further releases. Three stars.