OCTANE

Spock's Beard has opted to offer 4-7 minutes songs instead of quenching my proggy thirst with 10+ minutes of refreshing mix juice of cerebral sounds. Very disappointing. However, of the short songs that they packed in Octane, three are immediately stood out: The Ballet of the Impact (track 1), NWC (track 8) and The Planet's Hum (track 10). The first song has a very inviting intro, and it is very typical Beard style, with different vocalist (who did a good job in this song, while in a number of times in some songs he sounds too poppy). A very good song, I should say. The second song from this good list is an instrumental outing, and a very powerful one. It is hard to describe this superb song, but I felt like listening to Dream Theater's Stream of Consciousness (of Train of Thought), where the similarity lies in fact that both are a musical tour de force made by a bunch of seasoned musicians. The third song begins with a country feel during the intro which then twisted into a rock parade. This could be acknowledged as a new Beard sound developed by a much band-oriented songcraftmen.

Another stand out is Of the Beauty of It All (track 7), mostly because Ryo plays astonishing keyboard parts. Just listen to his part during this song and you'll get the proggy drink you need to quench your thirst (if you close your eyes, you will detect the presence of Neal Morse, ha ha ha). The rest of the songs, 8 of them, are average progsongs. However for anyone who has a soft spot for slow song, you will find a beauty in She is Everything (track 4).

In all, it is a good album, better than Feel Euphoria although still below the par of V and Snow. If you knew the history of this band, you may probably consider this as change of sound direction, progressing to a new progsound which is a right thing to do. (Nirarta, Indonesia)