ON TO EVERMORE

This is a progressive rock concept album, with a story that runs parallel to GLASS HAMMER's previous fantasy-musical album "Perelandra" released in 1995. After listening to "On To Evermore" more than a dozen of times (and it's still spinning in my CD player), I think it's a shame that I haven't heard " Perelandra". It would take to much time and space to describe the story so let's concentrate on the music. Their melodic progressive rock has got a complex '70s style with folkish touches and many different mood and rhythm changes. Take a bit of EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, GENTLE GIANT, KANSAS and YES, and you've got GLASS HAMMER. GLASS HAMMER has got two very good guitar players in Walter Moore and David Carter, and the music does contain a lot of very nice twin guitar playing. They also got a fast-fingered keyboard player in Fred Schendel. The best example of these three gentlemen's skills is shown in the final instrumental track " Twilight on Longview". This is a very beautiful song. The best tracks are "The Mayor Of Longview" (a very accessible easy-listening song, but still very good), "The Conflict", "Arianna" (a long epic suite that passes seventeen minutes) and the aforementioned "Twilight On Longview". This is one of the best prog albums in 1998. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...!