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THE ROOM

Crossover Prog • United Kingdom


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The Room picture
The Room biography
Founded in London, UK in 2010

UK band THE ROOM was formed by former GLD members Martin Wilson and Steve Anderson in 2010 and finalized with the addition of Andy Rowe, Steve Checkley and Andrew Rae to their line-up in 2011. They released their debut album "Open Fire" on US label Melodic Revolution Records towards the end of 2012.

THE ROOM Videos (YouTube and more)


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THE ROOM discography


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THE ROOM top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.21 | 23 ratings
Open Fire
2012
3.50 | 20 ratings
Beyond The Gates Of Bedlam
2015
3.16 | 13 ratings
Caught By The Machine
2019

THE ROOM Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

THE ROOM Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

4.50 | 2 ratings
Live @ The Robin 2
2017

THE ROOM Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

THE ROOM Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

4.00 | 3 ratings
Carrie
2015
4.00 | 4 ratings
As Crazy As It Seems
2015
3.00 | 1 ratings
Broken
2018
0.00 | 0 ratings
Vanished (for Eric)
2023

THE ROOM Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Caught By The Machine by ROOM, THE album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.16 | 13 ratings

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Caught By The Machine
The Room Crossover Prog

Review by TCat
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

3 stars The Room is the name of a Crossover Prog band founded in the UK in 2010. The band was founded by Martin Wilson (vocalist) and Steve Anderson (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals). As far as the current line up in 2019, the two founding members are still active in the band along with Andy Rowe on bass, Chris York on drums, Eric Bouilette on guitar and violin, and Mark Dixon on keyboards. They have released 3 full length albums since 2012, including the album "Caught by the Machine" in early 2019.

The album has a loose concept dealing with how certain things have power to make people to do actions they would normally not do and how we can become addicted to those things to the point that we don't have to think for ourselves. It's a concept that has been done many times before, but the lyrics are decent enough. There really isn't a specific item that that they focus on, it can mean anything from technology to drugs, its up to the listener to decide.

Wilson's vocals are quite similar to Michael Sadler from "Saga", but not always quite as dynamic. The music on this album, for the most part, is simple and mostly straightforward with an occasional progressive sound, but not really very challenging. You could almost compare it to "Saga" also, but more similar to their less interesting pop music than their better progressive rock. The first 5 songs stay locked in safe mode, and don't really move away from the lite-progressive, pop / rock style.

"Drowning in Sound" is the band's self-proclaimed epic track, and the first one on the album to approach and break the 8 minute mark. After listening to 5 other tracks that barely scratch the Progressive sound, I have some doubts. The verses are farily typical of what we have already heard, but the chorus is suddenly more upbeat switching from 4 / 4 to 6 / 8. A guest female singer takes the vocal lead at 4 minutes. After another chorus, at 6 minutes things mellow out to a piano and guitar and later a violin taking the lead. Though there is a bit more progressiveness here, it is really nothing to get excited about, as there isn't anything very challenging here either.

The next 3 tracks stay around the 8 minute mark. Unfortunately, they don't offer anything other than mostly straightforward rock with a few nice guitar solos, but there isn't a lot of substance there even though the tracks are longer. The last track is "Bloodstream" which has a nice driving beat, but a lousy processed vocal that tries to sound dark and evil, but mostly fails.

The album is pretty much your average power pop music with a few attempts at trying to sound progressive. Once it is all over though, there is nothing that stands out here as being unique or interesting, and the songs pretty much all just melt together in a mostly moderate tempo of tracks. If you want something that is light on the progressiveness that has a lot of pop / rock style, and you like "Saga"s vocals, then you might like this, but don't expect anything challenging and you'll be okay.

 Open Fire by ROOM, THE album cover Studio Album, 2012
3.21 | 23 ratings

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Open Fire
The Room Crossover Prog

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

3 stars Having recently reviewed The Room's 2015 album 'Beyond The Gates of Bedlam" I now find myself listening to their 2012 debut, 'Open Fire', which is available through Bandcamp (I believe it was originally released in the States on Melodic Revolution Records).I don't know why it took them three years to follow up on this debut, but it certainly wasn't down to lack of quality or songs as yet again this is another really strong release. Martin Wilson has a memorable voice, and this melodic rock crossover neo progressive rock sound gives him plenty of room to shine. Andy Rowe and Andrew Rae keep the rhythm section nailed down, knowing when and what to play to either provide the others a backbone or dramatic emphasis, while guitarist Steve Anderson and keyboard player Steve Checkley are both adept at providing harmonies or solos as required.

It may have been released in 2012, but the heart of this album belongs twenty years earlier when the progressive scene was insular, robust and full of vigour. True, it was often the same people attending all the gigs, but back then there were loads of gigs to go to! With no internet, and virtually no press, the only way to get people to hear the music was by getting out there and gigging, and this music is very much at home with what was being released back then. Of course, Martin and Steve Anderson were very active during that period, and with this album it is as if the years in between just never happened. I can "see" The Room out there playing with Grace, Galahad, Landmarq and all the others from back then, but it is wonderful to know that music like this is still being performed and played with such passion today, and that The Room are a gigging outfit getting out there and showing the crowds that progressive rock is as relevant as it ever has been.

 Beyond The Gates Of Bedlam by ROOM, THE album cover Studio Album, 2015
3.50 | 20 ratings

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Beyond The Gates Of Bedlam
The Room Crossover Prog

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

3 stars

I was having a conversation with David Elliott from BEM recently, and he asked me if there were any bands in the back catalogue that I would be interested in reviewing, and one of those I requested was The Room. I wasn't sure why, but knew that I had heard about them from somewhere, but for the life of me couldn't remember why. As soon as I started playing this it all came flooding back, as the man on vocals was Martin Wilson, ex-of Grey Lady Down, a band I saw many times back in the Nineties, and whose original demo I still have (blackmail anyone?). The other musician I also knew was Steve Anderson, who was latterly in GLD, but who I know from Sphere, the band he was in with Neil Durant (now in IQ). The line-up for this their second album is completed by Andy Rowe (bass), Steve Checkley (keyboards) and Chris York (drums).

This is music that hearkens back to the Nineties, when everyone involved in the UK progressive rock scene really felt that things were about to explode into the mainstream, as there were so many good bands that could be heard virtually every week in London. GLD, as with many others before them, played at The Marquee (with Jump as support on the night I saw them), yet as with most of the neo prog scene didn't make the leap into the big time. A large part of the album is neo-prog, although there are also strong melodic rock tendencies, and there has been a great deal of thought with the arrangements.

Steve is an interesting keyboard player, one that is prepared to solo when needed, or stay more in the background playing the perfect accompaniment, and that comes through particularly on songs such as 'As Crazy As It Seems', which is far more laid back than one might expect from a band like this. There are lots of different influences in what they are doing, and perhaps it isn't surprising that GLD is one of these, but bands as diverse as Credo, Marillion and Magnum all have a part to play as well. Martin's vocals are perfectly suited to this style of music and provide a significant point of difference, with emotion being very important indeed. This is a really solid piece of work, and I look forward to hearing more from The Room.

 Beyond The Gates Of Bedlam by ROOM, THE album cover Studio Album, 2015
3.50 | 20 ratings

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Beyond The Gates Of Bedlam
The Room Crossover Prog

Review by Windhawk
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars UK band THE ROOM was formed in 2010 by former Grey Lady Down members Martin Wilson and Steve Anderson. They completed an initial line-up in 2011, and released their debut album in 2012 through US label Melodic Revolution Records. 'Beyond the Gates of Bedlam' is their second studio production, and was released through UK label Bad Elephant Music in 2015.

The Room is a band that describes themselves as a melodic rock band, a description that is as revealing as it is confusing. It is clear that strong and compelling melodies is something of a central focus for the band though, so it is a fair description of what they are about even if not all that revealing.

The main dominating aspect of their compositions is, at I experience this album at least, the lead vocals of Martin Wilson. His voice is one that initially sounds a bit on the rough side, and in my view he isn't a classic rock vocalist as such either. He does have a melodic delivery, even if it does sound a tad unpolished at times, but what he also has and use to very good effect is a natural talent for subtly theatrical vocals, often emphasized by the use of a vibrato touch at the end of the vocal delivery. A subtle dramatic effects used extensively throughout this album, and one that effectively underlines the emotional impact of the songs and the lyrics.

Musically we're back in the first half of the 1980's with this production, an album that exists somewhere on the halfway stage between Magnum's 'On a Storyteller's Night' and Marillion's 'Misplaced Childhood', in my view with a clear emphasis on the former. Pumping bass guitar, firm but toned down guitar riffs, with elegant use of plucked guitar details and flowing guitar solo runs as key elements. Keyboards will ebb and flow in use and intensity, providing subservient backing as well as more forceful textures depending on need, as well as being used to create moods and atmospheres of a more cinematic nature on occasion. The songs have a general tendency to alternate between gentler and harder edged sections, and the greater majority of verse and chorus sections tends to revolve around a sound and style that will be rather familiar to fans of Magnum in general and the earlier referenced album of theirs in particular. Occasionally the band will take on more of a neo-progressive oriented vibe as well, although more often than not these are explored in the instrumental sections of the songs. Cue the Marillion references.

While this album may not score too many points in terms of innovation or even sounding like an album made in 2015, those with a strong affection for albums such as Magnum's 'On a Storyteller's Night' should find The Room's sophomore production to be a real treat. Especially those who enjoy hearing music of this particular nature explored with a subtle theatrical panache.

 Open Fire by ROOM, THE album cover Studio Album, 2012
3.21 | 23 ratings

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Open Fire
The Room Crossover Prog

Review by aapatsos
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Strong melodic progressive rock from The Room, in the vein of Saga with an injection of 80's AOR (yes, no shame here), Pink Floyd melodies, a nostalgic Marillion feeling and plenty, plenty of mellow pianos in the vein of Queen.

Wilson and Anderson also carry something from Grey Lady Down with them, as neo-prog elements find their way in the second (and stronger) part of the album. The focus here is nevertheless, poppy and accessible prog rock, but played at such a pristine way that even the AOR/Magnum-like A Casual Believer sounds absolutely pleasant. The flow of the album is really well worked out, although I would prefer more adventurous passages and less straightforward rock and prog-ballad pieces. If you like this new wave of progressive rock, you will definitely enjoy this album. Careful songwriting that "plays safe", but when it deviates from this norm it really shows the band's capabilities.

3.5 stars and warmly recommended

Highlights (with some distance to the others): A Multitude of Angels, In the Shadows, The Spark

Thanks to windhawk for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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