DESCENDING

Here is a band that uses vintage-sounding instrumentation with a modern approach and sound. The overall tenor of the album is decidedly dark- I'm not sure there's a single major chord in the entire thing. This band does have close relationships musically with Van der Graaf Generator, Pink Floyd, early Genesis, and Jethro Tull, though these comparisons can't be readily made throughout the whole album.

"Descending" "Descending" is a dark track with cutting vocals, a sinister chord progression, and a shadowy sound. A thin, early 1960s organ holds out the chords before taking over as the lead instrument. The vocals are similar to those of Peter Hammill (though not nearly as dramatic), while the instrumental segment that kicks off the second half of the piece relies on guitar to a greater degree. In the last several minutes, I am extremely reminded of Pink Floyd, particularly "Sheep" from Pink Floyd.

"Prevail" Monstrous sounds and a frozen atmosphere give way to a cacophony of heavy guitar and saxophone, reminiscent of the raucousness of early King Crimson. The Pink Floyd and Van der Graaf Generator similarities are in force here, mixed with other clear but subtle influences. Strings and acoustic guitar show up in one short breather, but the doomed air is maintained. Flute and organ have a field day in a bouncy section in the middle, which reminds me of A Passion Play by Jethro Tull. Suddenly, the music becomes loud and maddening, as a spiraling section of unrest ensues.

"Trap" While the music is certainly good, the vocals ruin this shorter piece for me. They tend to drag lazily over the music like a blood-stained corpse through the woods in a B-horror movie.

"Labyrinth" The epic of the album initially takes a dark interpretation of a cliché "oldies" rhythm, then begins to sound a lot like Van der Graaf Generator, even vocally. Abruptly the music becomes very atmospheric and what almost sounds to be improvisation, full of spooky tones and strange sounds- really not my thing at all, to say the least. In that respect, this is the worst track on the album, since it gets very sleepy toward the middle. Even when the heavy riff picks back up in the second half, I find my eyes are glazed over and I'm not really paying attention. Additionally, the ending seems to be lackluster to me, but perhaps that only because of the aforementioned loss of interest.