CRASH COURSE - A HERMETIC SCIENCE PRIMER

Edward Macan, the founder of Hermetic Science and its main composer, is also the author of ROCKING THE CLASSICS, by far the most intelligent and best-written study of the classic prog scene. (The only book that comes close is Aymeric Leroy's French-language ROCK PROGRESSIF.) I was intrigued when I bought ENDLESS ENIGMA, his study of E.L.P.'s music, and found that he had this to say about his own band: 'Hermetic Science contributed one of the most original and important bodies of music to the progressive rock canon between 1996 and 2001'. Since Macan's main instruments are vibraphone and marimba, I got terribly excited when I found that CRASH COURSE contains almost all of their music, and you effectively get two C.D.s for the price of one. Much to my disappointment, however, it turned out that most of Macan's compositions sounded terribly academic (in the worst sense of the word) and lifeless. The majority of his pieces were written for vibes and marimba and/or keyboards, plus bass, plus drums. The bass usually sounds nice and fat, especially when played by Andy Durham, and the drumming often reminds me of Michael Giles (IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING) or Bill Bruford ca. 1973. The main problem is that Macan's tunes rarely seem to go anywhere. Due to the absence of vocalists or star soloists they're utterly lacking in passion. 'Esau's Burden' and 'Against the Grain part two', for example, sound like a pale imitation of Pierre Moerlen's Gong. 'Leviathan and Behemoth', 'State of Grace' and 'Against the Grain part one' were clearly influenced by E.L.P. and Egg, but they seem quite amateurish by comparison. Some of Macan's pieces feature deadly boring piano fugues; others sound like end-of-the-pier entertainment. The double album's strongest section is the second half of the first disc, where pieces like 'Fanfare for the House of Panorama', 'Intrigue in the House of Panorama' and 'Last Stand' happily carry the listener along, without irritating. All in all, though, Macan greatly overestimates his abilities as a composer and performer. It seems to me that, around the year 2000, Anekdoten, Kenso and The Flower Kings made far more convincing progressive albums than he. Macan even believes that Hermetic Science 'made one of the most imaginative uses of the trio format by any band, in any genre of music'. Hm. When I think of Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio, I just cannot mention Hermetic Science in the same breath. Sorry, Ed...