A BATTLE A DAY ...

Having recently given A Battle A Day. a spin for the first time in a few years I was reminded why at the time of buying this CD I wasn't inclined to start investigating further into the Fruitcake back catalogue. While this album is not a total disaster, to sum it up in one word my overriding feeling is that this is a bit dull.

Fruitcake's Neo Prog follows simple musical structures, often repetitive and lacks dynamics most of the time. The keyboards play a dominant role, either holding down chords or playing uninspiring, repetitive synth lines in the main. The musicianship while adequate for the requirements of the songs leaves you feeling that the band would struggle to tackle anything too technical.

While the production is not too bad, the guitar could benefit from a bit more beef, particularly when Robert Hauge is playing more in power chord mode. The drums while well up in the mix sound a bit boxy, particularly the snare. I was however quite pleased with the punchy bass guitar sound.

Too try not to be too negative though; the songs in the main are despite lacking excitement, pleasant enough though a few stronger melodies wouldn't go amiss. Most are around the 8 minute mark and more could have been made of the instrumental passages to give the songs more dynamics, instead of just plodding along. Hauge does however play some decent guitar solos, sometimes in a restrained Dave Gilmour style. The Old Man probably captures the band at their best with a more enjoyable and lengthy instrumental break, a powerful organ sound and a fine guitar solo from Hauge. Though there are quite a few lengthy instrumental breaks on the CD, a few more of this quality could have raised the album up a notch.

Overall then, with this album simply being an okay release and with the amount of more exciting Neo Prog bands out there, Fruitcake remain a band I can live without.