Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Life Line Project - The Finnishing Touch CD (album) cover

THE FINNISHING TOUCH

Life Line Project

 

Symphonic Prog

3.71 | 47 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

apps79
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars ''The finnishing touch'' was the third official release by Life Line Project, written by Erik de Beer during a time he thought was dying of a terminal disease and featuring the same line-up with ''Modinha'' at the time of the recordings, which took place at de Beer's GitaarStudio between October 2007 and May 2009.The main music concept is based on a sad Finnish traditional song, reworked by de Beer, while parts of the composed material is credited to guitarist Jason Eekhout.Moreover a few tracks on the album date back to the days of Erik de Beer with his premature bands Brancard and Zoundworks.

According to de Beer, ''The finnishing touch'' belongs among the most jazzy efforts of the band.Actually the first few tracks contain strong Fusion touches in the guitar parts and, yes, some jazzy influences on the piano parts.I would say though that this was one of the most Neo Prog-sounding albums the band ever produced.Unlike ''Modinha'', ''The finnishing touch'' is heavily relying on de Beer's work on synthesizers, which are executed on flashy solos and very sharp interventions, but the true problem is that the album sounds very thin and ''plastic'' at moments, especially the drum parts and the orchestral keyboards sound extremely fake.There are still plenty of organ and piano runs in here, but the focus remains on synthesizers, bass and drums with an E.L.P.-kind of style mixed with melodic guitar touches.As the album is structured around Finnish Folk, there are also some folky references at moments with the acoustic guitars in evidence, which de Beer cleverly adapted in a Classical-like enviroment.The second half of the album is much stronger with a turn towards a FOCUS-like style, featuring dramatic guitar playing, smooth flute drives and more balanced use of keyboards.The overall sound recalls of acts such as ELEGANT SIMPLICITY, pretty much synthetic, struggling to offer its true symphonic atmosphere, fortunately the music is well-composed and a few tracks really stand out based on their grandiose sound.

A good Neo/Symphonic Prog album, which could have been even better if some instrumental parts did sound a bit more natural.Recommended to anyone who loves melodic, rich Prog Rock and does not care about a heavier dose of synths.

apps79 | 2/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this LIFE LINE PROJECT review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.