ALTERED STATE

Just take the high speed racing Where Is Harrison Ford? which bears a significant fusion touch and therefore proves the band's variety at best. Puzzling - I can't file I Wish It Would Rain - the main chorus sounds so remarkable to me, it's just like a deja vu - as if this has been produced in the 1970s, buried in my memory for a long time and finally digged out not long ago. Not the band's most representive song, because very catchy, probably peering hard at a place in the charts, never mind - enjoyable nevertheless.

Although the German song title means 'fear', Angst is a charming ballad on the contrary. If you still may have the impression that this comes as a simple rock album - Made of Gasoline will teach you better at the latest. And anyway - this is rather unusual - I have the impression the album qualitatively grows the more it comes to the end. This points to the closing monster track Thinkin' About Movin' to a Catatonic State - partially heavy - tending to prog metal - partially mellow. It all closes for the first time at 11:30 with some spacey/ambient soundscapes, you have the chance to relax then with complete weightlessness until they decide to attach some more time provided with a bubbling blistering atmosphere.

An extraordinary composition really, rich on variety, surprises ... and experimental approach if you take the last minutes. Following this I also have to mention The Waking Dream - a bluesy ballad basically ... but wooooow ... spiked with some striking extras, speaking of the irresistible dynamic, other-wordly vocals, psychedelic guitars - a fantastic solo included - aso aso. And so my final conclusion goes like this: 'Dös' is an entertaining album and - intended or not - has forwarded them into the prog olymp with ease.

This is inventive, mostly high-energy hard rock, that has some elements of Crack The Sky and Pink Floyd. The hardest rocking songs, This Just Might Take Me Down and Made Of Gasoline, have more than enough prog flourishes to satisfy this prog fan. And Licking The V... (yes, it is about what you think it's about) is one of the sexiest songs recorded.

Darkness Visible is an amazing piece, with snakelike guitaring in an eastern sounding metal motif, and it leads to Thinkin' Bout Movin' To A Catatonic State, which is, in my opinion, the greatest prog metal song ever recorded.

Special mention must be given to the lyrics. Rarely, in any form of music, does a lyricist capture my attention, and just amaze me with his adeptness with words, like Gregory Markel does here. Some of the lines still, after hundreds of listens, bring a tear to my eyes.

An amazing thing, this band's albums can be found on many sites selling at 99 cents. Get them. It will be the best buck you ever spent.

This album is more like crossover prog than heavy prog, but there are still some elements. There is definitely a 10CC feel, especially in Step Into My Groove and Do What You Want. But there is also a psychedelic Pink Floyd vibe, the best example being Ghost Beside My Bed.

I enjoy this album more than I originally did, because of the second album they recorded. But I still can't rate it better than three stars.

It's just too bad that Warner Brothers had no idea how to market the band.