EVENT

Third album for this extremelly talented American band with quite an unique way of expressing their musical ideas in the prog metal or rock direction!After a sensational debut album ELECTRIC SKIES,which had the effect of a bomb for me,EVENT confirmed with HUMAN CONDITION and now with this third effort they prove thet a personal style was found,but it's absolutelly necessary to bring something new in their musical display!Dave Deluco has an interesting voice and he really can sing,but sometimes is necessary a better vocal modulation,because the risk of some monotony of the songs can appear,and the lack of diversity is one of the major minus for EVENT!SHAUN KICHAUD is a phenomenal guiitar player,but the true solos are almost missing on SCRATCHING AT THE SURFACE!In fact ELECTRIC SKIES was the most progressive album,where some technical wizzardries were simply breathtaking and the compositions were well defined together with some instrumental tracks where the guys simply explode!!Album after album EVENT tried to simplify the things,and I am afraid that's not good!They need a kick or a push from the back and I honestly don't know what happened sonce 2003 when this album was released?!?!7 years now in 2010 since SCRATCHING TO THE SURFACE has been released ....unbelieveble how quick the time is passing by...and no sign from them,maybee EVENT has disbanded and that is a shame,because they had a huge potential,just the compositions were too simplistic sometimes!3 STARS for a mediocre album overall!

Indie-pendant of prog

After the decent if rather unfocused prog metal leanings of their 1998 debut, Boston band Event released their follow up album Human condition to mixed reviews in 2001. Two years later this, their latest album to date, appeared.

While there is undoubtedly an element of sophistication on Scratching at the surface which was missing from the debut, this comes at the expense of originality. When listening to this album, I cannot help but feel I have heard it all before from the plethora of bands who ply the indie pop rock market. This could be Nickelback, it could be Green Day, or it could be the many mini-me's of those bands who appear consecutively on MTV2.

The songs are all around the 3-4 minute mark, being simplistic indie pop numbers with an element of ambition in the arrangements. The sound invariably comprises of the gruff vocals of Dave DeLuco backed by the heavy riffs of Shaun Michaud. In prog terms, I struggle to find anything of that nature whatsoever.

As for quality of the music in indie terms, I do not really feel qualified to offer any incisive commentary. It seems to me that if you enjoy music of that genre, this is a well performed and well recorded album of songs of a reasonable quality, so I would assume it will appeal to those of that persuasion.

For those visiting this site in the hope of discovering some hidden gems of prog, this album does not even Scratch the surface.

A one off event?

Boston band Event recorded this their debut album in 1997. The four piece line up focuses on the vocal talents of Dave Deluco and the guitar and keyboard playing of Shaun Michaud. While classified here as crossover prog, this album has more in common with prog metal, the tracks being very much rooted in the heavy end of the prog spectrum.

Right from the opening "Perfect illusion", it is clear that the band have ambitions which push well beyond simply being another heavy rock band. They are quite at ease blending rhythmic keyboard sounds with incisive guitar riffs and rough, bluesy vocals. At times, the complex arrangements are highly progressive in nature, while on other occasions the songs are far more simplistic. I am hesitant to mention other bands by way of comparison, as Event have succeeded well in developing their own style. There are though suggestions of bands such as Queensryche, a bit of Dream Theater perhaps, a hint of Deep Purple and some nuances of Neal Morse's many guises.

In terms of the song writing, the results are adequate but tend to be cut from the same template. It is probably fair to say that the band make a good go at developing the compositions beyond their underlying quality. The sole exception to the pattern is the instrumental "Full of stars", but even this could form the backing track for one of the album tracks.

In summary, "Electric skies" is an album which is more likely to appeal to those with a bent for prog metal. In some ways, the apparent complexities of the generally short songs here flatter to deceive, the basic material actually being adequate but no more.

I never heared an album to sounds so bad like Human condition. Everything is bad here, the drums are like some pop groups from MTV that you see every day, the keys is boring like hell, not to mention the voice. I don't know what is so original here, like it said in description of the band. One of the worse albums i ever heared, sorry but with this kind of music you want go anywhere in prog music. Forte tracks not only one not if listen hundred times. 2 stars, and i think is to much.

An excellent album of prog rock/metal music. The particularity of this album (and maybe the others, I don't have listen to them yet..) is the compositions. The songs doesn't sound like a true prog band. Melodies have strange sonority, modulations. Well, it is the Event sound. the rythms are not so prog but the complexity of compositions and chorus and melody create a special ambience. You must try it to know.

After this 1st CD Event changed direction in a big way, going for a more mainstream King's' x, Spock's Beard sort of style............... Anyway, this is without a doubt my favorite CD of theirs. But that's because I like Dream Theater more than the Beatles. And that's exactly the difference between this Event debut CD and their next 2 CDs. This CD is progressive metal. The only unusual thing about these songs is their length--1 six minute song. All the rest between 3 and 4 min.). Not that song length is a determination that a song is good or not, it's just that most prog. bands have at least one "epic" and a couple of these song's, I personally would have liked to see stretch out longer. The songs are just that. Songs. (except for the mind boggling instrumental "Full of Star's) there's not a lot of wankerin' going on here. And I really like 7 out of the 10 songs. Perfect Illusion, Tundra and Walk On being at my top of the heap. These guy's are super technical and precise but really have the song writing down. (during the next 2 CDs they lose the tech. edge but turn up the song writing a notch. A move that I did not care for personally but can't complain with the results). For me this particular Event CD is an outstanding recording all around. Great production, Good emotional vocals, precise drumming, highly charged guitar and great song melodies that actually stick in your head and might find yourself humming. (A rarity in Prog. Metal). I give it a 4 out 5 star rating and hope they return to their beginnings in the future.

EVENT is a very talented four-piece band from USA, influenced by IRON MAIDEN, QUEENSRYCHE, STEVE VAI, DREAM THEATER, LED ZEPPELIN, YES, RUSH and Billy JOEL? and that about says all about their sound and music. Their music comes fairly close to their influences. Maybe you could add a little bit of EMERSON LAKE & PALMER, Allan HOLDSWOTH, KANSAS, STRAVINSKY and UK together with some jazz-fusion to the description too. They might as well be the next big group beside those big names, even though they only been around since 1996. They started under the name MYSTIC FISHOOK, and the cover of this CD also says MYSTIC FISHOOK, with a sticker on it saying "EVENT Formerly MYSTIC FISHOOK". Nowadays the CD has been reissued with the same CD cover saying EVENT instead. The music is a combination between progressive metal and techno, with many technically demanding finesses. The techno side of it comes from the programmed keyboards. The guitar solo sections are very influenced by John PETRUCCI of DREAM THEATER. The singer is very skilled and he's singing is very passionate and heavy with a touch of Bruce DICKINSON. They can be very happy with such a great singer. Overall the music contains very complex arrangements with many intricate rhythms. An explanation to this could be that the band was formed at Berklee Collage of music. But EVENT's music is very melodic too, with some catchy choruses. Another amazing thing is the clearness of the production. The sound is very crisp with very detailed separation between the instruments. This is very advantageous to let the music come to its full rights. The best songs are "Electric Skies", "Muddy Water", "Aimless", "Tundra", "Weatherman" and "Full of Stars". Yeah, that's right! It's almost every track on this CD. EVENT is one of the better bands coming out of the 90:s; they have taken the progressive music a step forward. Get this CD as soon as possible.