NIGHT VISION

Good to hear the the band is still alive even though this band for me was not a truly proh band especially when I new the first time thru their second album especially with the song "Woe and Allas". This album is good even though it's not as good as their previous studio album "Close To The Fire". The opening track "Icarus" (reminds me to KANSAS's song "Icarus out of Nowhere") is a symphonic rock music with some influence of classical music. The track has an excellent composition and tasty melodies. However, it lacks the vocal line as it does not seem to fit with the music - it's too low, I would say. It might be great if the voice part is done little higher with such a voice of Steve Walsh or oled KAYAK's album. It's merely the vocal line that this track is lacking.

Track 2 "Miracle Man" is played in a little bit faster tempo. Good composition but it lacks melody and not so good voice quality. Again, the voice is not keeping up with the music. The next track "Cassandra" is definitely a pop song with little prog touch - or not at all. It continues with prog-pop song "A Million Years". "Water For Guns" has a nice intro with piano solo accompanied by Hackettian guitar work. It's a nice song played in a relatively moderate tempo. It has some classic KAYAK components. I especially enjoy the guitar sound at the background as well as keyboard works. The tempo shifts to a a faster one when it reaches "Water For Guns .." lyrical part. The orchestration part is also excellent. "The Way Of The World" includes brass section and piano that plays at rhythm section. Brass section appears mostly as an accentuation of end of bars. For me it's a relatively mediocre song; the use of brass section does not appeal me at all. It reminds me to Genesis "Abacab" album. "Hold Me Forever" has a root of classic KAYAK musical style; opened with piano and vocal line accompanied by a violin / cello at background. It's a melodic song. "Tradition" reminds me to previous "Close To The Fire" album; it has rich melodies and components of classic KAYAK. It has an excellent changing tempo in the middle of the track with excellent melody. "All Over Again" is a mellow track in pop vein - excellent guitar works. "Life Without Parole" is an upbeat track with piano as rhythm section.

Overall, this album is not as strong as the previous "Close To The Fire". It has good musical composition, good melody and structure. However, the overall album does not project something that really stands out. I have big problem in accepting vocal quality throughout all 14 tracks of the album - it's way behind the classic KAYAK album like "Phantom of The Night" or "Starlight Dancer" or "Merlin". The music tends to be pop with some addition of prog components. I would recommend this album for collectors only, so the rating is 2/5. Gatot Widayanto, Indonesia.