HACKBERRY

1. "Ophidian Strike" (17:38) RUSH-like power chords with some very RUSH-like other instrumental tracks are here woven together to open this song to display the band's RUSH-like discipline. In the third minute the band shows some DEATH-like chops before stepping back to give us a more laid back Mellotron-backed weave. At 4:15 the guitarists begin what seems like a slow trek back into Akerfeldt-Gildenlöw territory but then back off and slow down a bit. The sixth and seventh minutes show some slide guitar work giving the music a kind of Allman/Clapton feel but then everything slows down, empties out for a 30 second passage of slowly picked arpeggios on a solo electric guitar. At 7:45 the organ ushers us back into the RUSH-like motif of the opening section. At 8:26 there is a slight shift before another return to Rush territory (despite the Hammond mirroring the guitar's chordal and melodic journey). The end of the tenth minute shows some syncopation with drum fills before everything switches to a space/psychedelic palette with plenty of floaty synths and echoed guitar note play. This reminds me of QUANTUM FANTAY--even when the melodic structure coopts a bit of YES riffing. Nice solid bass and drum throughout this section. Lead guitars return in the twelfth minute, taking the front attention from the spacey keys but even doubling the QUANTUM FANTAY feel and sound. At 13:08 a series of guitar power chords and Hammond arpeggi provide a bridge to a nice 'tron-supported section in which the twin lead guitars establish a very catchy melodic riff to hook us in. But then, in the fifteenth minute, we fall back into a succession of OPETH-like motifs (with the twin guitars both playing the harmonized lead and playing off of each other). Pretty cool. I miss these kind of 1970s twin guitar performances--something that I've heard in recent years from very few bands--most notably (and impressively) from Tennessee's TREE TOPS. Very solid, polished song. (31.75/35)

2. "Miraggio" (5:43) a mock classical piano piece? Reminds me of Gleb Kolyadin only it feels a bit Gallic tongue-in- cheeky. But then, after 90 seconds of this the bass and guitars take over in a kind of TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA/PAIN OF SALVATION way. At 2:40 we switch into something that sounds like it could come from Polish rockers RIVERSIDE circa 2006. A brief calm before the crescendo of the closing movements beginning at 4:40 and then at 5:20. Very interesting! (8.875/10)

3. "Aboard" (8:20) bursts out of the starting gate at full-power! The guitarists, both rhythm and lead, are wailing away as bass and drums also carry forward the melody and steady pace. Nice, if simple, chord and melody structure established and maintained. I can see the comparisons to "La Villa Strangiato" though this feels more of a study in the rudimentaries of the Rush song. At the three-minute mark there is a cools shift as muted flanged rhythm guitar allows the organ, 'tron, and lead guitar tracks to come forward more. As we return to the original dynamic, the guitarists take turns wailing away while the bass, guitar, keys, and rhythm guitar keep the base rock solid. Even the reset/interlude in the second half of the sixth minute somehow carries forward the plodding bass-led pace with no loss of momentum. The song is quite admirable for its consistent display of unabated power though I would have loved to hear something a little more daring from the rhythm section (especially the drums). (18/20)

4. "Desert Orchid" (13:06) a 120-second BLUE ÖYSTER CULT-like atmospheric intro turns rather SABBATH-like as it picks up speed, mass, and momentum in the third minute. This is the absolute essence of all that made Heavy Metal music win over so many fans and artists in the 1970s. By 2:30 they're all clicking on all cylinders, a full-fledged classic metal weave. At 3:55 everything comes to a halt--as if the juggernaut has been waylaid at a weigh station. The soft weave that follows slowly builds as one of the guitarists starts hitting on some power chords and then wailing away in a nice solo section (from 6:30 to 7:00 he's very impressive). Another stop and start in which another more jagged motif. In the end the song plays out more like a djenty thrash metal song from the late 90s or early Naughties. It's good--much better than the simplistic predecessor--but nothing very groundbreaking. (22.25/25)

Total Time 44:07

This album makes me finally realize what it is about RUSH albums that fail to make me like them: poor production, not enough low end, and vocals. Hackberry provide a Rush-like music with a deep, thick low end coupled with a lush Mellotron and organ fullness that helps ground me (and the music) in the glory of much that is great about progressive rock music. The guitar-hero twin guitars remind me of so many great 70s bands, including THIN LIZZY, THE OUTLAWS, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and even THE EAGLES and THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, but also of the OPETH guitarists, the Glldenlöw brothers and, at times, a bit of the RIVERSIDE sound.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of well-composed, well-performed progressive rock. Were there vocals or more innovative ideas and structures this might even have been better.

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