FUTURE AWAITS

[Review 1]

DON'T LET THE PROG METAL TAG SCARE YOU AWAY!!!

I feel the genre tag for RC2 is inaccurate. They do have some metaly moments, but for the most part I would place them in heavy prog. There are some heavy riffs (in the beginning of the album), but there are no double kick drums and no screaming vocals. Not that these things are bad, but they are what I think is associated with the genre a lot of the time and turns many away. I would even consider RC2 softer than the heavy prog of Uriah Heep and Rush (at their heaviest).

What I like the most about the album is how it's neither dominated by keyboards nor dominated by guitars. They both receive equal time, one always backing up the other, coming in and out of the foreground and background. The keyboards are also constantly changing sounds throughout the entire album, going from a modern sound to a piano to a Mellotron-ish sound regularly (particularly in both parts of Voice of the Storm). The guitar is also varied up quite a bit. In the first two songs the guitar is definitely that of a metal band with its riffing, but in the latter part of the album, it becomes much more melodic or atmospheric (depending on the song).

The drumming on the album is very well done. One of things that can turn me away from a band very quickly is if I find the drums uninteresting or basic. RC2 does not make this mistake! Although the drums are somewhat basic in the softer parts, the drums are constanly changing and doing different things for most of the album. (Forgive the lack of technical terms; I know almost nothing about the technical features of music, unfortunately.)

I think some people might have trouble with the singer's voice, but I find it quite beautiful (reminds me of Banco's vocalist). Even though the lyrics are no longer in Spanish, the vocals still have a Spanish feel to them. This Spanish feel (in the music and the vocals) is perhaps what makes RC2 distinct from the traditional heavy prog (or prog metal, whatever). A soft Spanish guitar makes a few reappearances throughout the album (El Diablo Suelto, Voice of the Storm - Part 1), adding to the atmoshere and backing up the lead guitar.

I don't think this is as strong as their debut, but it is still an excellent album and their technical skills have definitely improved. It doesn't offer much of anything new to the prog scene, but it doesn't try to recreate the sounds of its predecessors. RC2 is definitely their own band and they have their own sound.

I very much look forward to their next album and I'll continue to keep my eye on them. The album isn't a masterpiece, but I think it would be an excellent addition to any prog collection, especially if you're looking for some modern stuff that isn't retro. If you're not willing to shell out the money for this album based on my review, check out their samples on MySpace and hopefully that will convince you!

~Kestrel~

Highlights: Time Pieces, Future Awaits, El Diablo Suelto, Voice of the Storm - Part 1

This sophomore effort from Venezuelan act RC2 was a nice surprise.

Symphonic rock is something of a foundation on this creation, with acoustic and clean guitars skillfully mixed with keyboards as main melody providers, a Hammond fleshing out the composition way back in the mix for most songs and quite often a driving bass line making the odd appearance when the rest of the instruments mellow down.

The vocals are clear, melodic and of high quality; while swirling keyboard soloing, a few instances of the Hammond taking the lead and atmospheric guitar soloing are the features of the non-vocal segments. Most times the band stay in the more mellow part of progressive rock; but in a few instances leanings towards classic hard rock like Deep Purple or more modern prog metal a la Dream Theater is offered up as well - alongside more atmospheric explorations quite similar to acts like Sylvan.

Vintage symphonic rock is a distinct influence on this band; but they do mix in more modern sounding details too. Fans of acts like Sylvan and Flower Kings might find this one just as interesting as fans of Kansas and Genesis - in fact there's somewhat of a transitional quality to this release overall; residing somewhere in between vintage and modern progressive rock. Well worth checking out.

RC2's sophomore album is an undisputed improvement on their debut album, released 5 years earlier: while "RC2" established a peculiar dynamics in the band's mixture of melodic prog-metal and standard neo-prog, "Future Awaits" happens to take this musical stance to another level by reshaping its dynamics and enriching it with enhanced eclecticism. RC2 is at the time being an English-lyric band (not unlike fellow band Aisles, Argentinean acts William Gray and Fughu, plus a host of Brazilian bands). The almost 11 minute long opener 'Time Pieces' with a robust delivery of musical colorfulness: this piece states the crafty equilibrium between rocking power and melodic drive that we are to witness throughout most part of the album. The complementation between the softer and harder passages is implemented is such a fluid manner that the contrasts almost seem to disappear. The dominant neo framework shows coincidences with the sort of sound that bands such as In Nomine and Sylvan pursue; there is also some Yes influence here, more concerning the softer passages' mood than any individual musician trying to emulate Howe, Squire or Wakeman. The follower is the title track, which is the one that brings the prog-metal element to play an important role in the sonic framework: more specifically, it is the influence of Rudess-era DT that becomes more apparent in the extroverted parts. This electrifying resource meets a mid-term with the melodic agility of standard neo. The final part includes some cosmic nuances for good effect. '11' bears a more explicit hook, it is certainly catchy, but we are not talking about indulging into simplistic pop: quite the opposite, the eerie atmosphere created for the softer passages state a sophisticated source of variation against the dynamics delivered in the powerful instrumental expansions (halfway between Arena and DT). 'Autumn' solidly recapitulates the dominant moods from the previous two pieces, even taking the emotional drive to an enhanced level, which in no small degree is due to the lead vocalist's defining input ? as a whole, this song represents a convenient culmination for the album's first half. And so we get to the instrumental 'El Diablo Suelto', an inventive piece that finds the band exploring a folkish vibe through symphonic prog filters. The basic rhythm pace, based on the Venezuelan joropo, is tremendously delightful: the rhythm duo shines here big time, and so does guitarist Barroeta with his vigorous phrases. Just before getting at the 3 minute mark, the track shifts to a calm, piano-led interlude, which serves as a threshold toward the folkish reprise that states the coda. 'Coming Down Again' is a whole different beast: a progressive travel with plenty of electronic sources, fed with modern space-rock nuances and occasional heavy prog ornaments ? Porcupine Tree seems to be the main influential reference here. The synth solo performed halfway marks the track's central mood. The last nearly 16 minutes of the album are occupied by the two-part 'Voices Of The Storm'. The first part is totally instrumental, and once again we are face to face with the band's most energetic side, with the musical scheme equilibrated between neo and prog-metal. Part 2 bears a less pompous sonic framework, but the expressiveness remains at the same level. The very brief interlude that starts at minute 7 is just lovely, a small moment of intensity before the eerie sung closure (which somehow reminds me of Yes-meets-PF). This is how this very good prog album ends: "Future Awaits" is the definitive RC2 statement so far, so now we prog collectors must feel glad that this band is being more noticed gradually and expect more good albums from them in the future.

Those Venezuelan guys paradoxically play prog in the Italian vein. The Italian school of the seventies: think of Il Volo, Le Orme for instance? Symphonic, labyrinthine, lyrical and 'merry' music. Expect no Italian, no Spanish lyrics though since they sing in English. Expect no Latino touches here, this is not Los Jaivas. Only a few South American guitar parts here and there, that's all. That doesn't mean there's no originality in this disc, not at all! This new opus really deserves your attention: there are no weak moment, the record is intense, rich, lyrical and perfect on a melodic point of view. What else do you need? Yes, you got it, this is a must.

RC2 from Venezuela was and is after all those years since issued a one hell of a great ride for me. They must be the best band Venezuela ever had in prog circles, that is for sure. They established their reputation with the second album issued in 2008 named Future awaits. Man, this album kick ass from start to finish. With one foot in prog metal, the melodic side and with another in symphonic prog, RC2 manage to come with a splendid complex and quite intresting second offer. Imagine you combine Dream Theater (from Images and words and Falling into infinity era) with hints that goes towards Marillion, Yes and even italian school the result is Future awaits. Definetly the best from the two albums released by the band and for sure one of the best albums of 2008 and still one of the intresting albums ever coming from South America in last decade, RC2 really capture my attention big time. From the opening Time Pieces, a 10 min piece with complicated swirling keybords and inventive guitars and a voice that remind me of LaBrie in his prime moments to the middle of the album Autum and ending two part Voice of the Storm this album is a total winner in my book. Lots of instrumental sections,there are even two entirely instrumentals here El Diablo Suelto with a clear symphonic prog/folk side and the uptempo and energic highly intresting first part from Voices of the storm shows big potential in this band. All pieces are fairly solid, the musicinship is top notch, maybe little much more originality was needed, but is excellent this way to. From me easy 4 stars, recommended , they remaining in silence since this second album was issued, no news for more then 5 years. Nice art work, remind a lot with Tiles Fly paper released same year.

RC2 was formed in Caracas, Venezuela, during 1999 following the break-up of Radio Clip, a popular act that released four albums in Venezuela between 1988 and 1994, selling thousands of albums, having number 1 singles and Gold records on the Venezuelan charts. Radio Clip started off as quite a pop-oriented outfit, but became much heavier throughout their career. After three of the members left, Arturo Torres (bass) and Félix Duque (lead vocals) decided that they wanted to keep working together, and brought in some more musicians and the group moved more into a progressive rock direction, and they changed the name. It was again put on hold when Arturo moved to the States, but the rest of ythe guys decided to continue, and the line-up stabilised with Félix, Eduardo Benatar (drums), Demian Mejicano (guitar), Rafael Paz (keyboards) and Pedro Misle (bass). Their history is rather unusual and complex, has involved such minor things such as people moving to Spain, playing their first concert only after they had been together for four years, then later landing the opening slot for Dream Theater in Venezuela only for their current guitarist to be unavailable, so their previous guitarist (who hadn't played with them for five years) rehearsed with them for three days to get the job done!

'Future Awaits' was their second album, and the first to be performed in English. Apparently the debut, which was released some five years prior to this one, was very much in the prog metal camp, but this is much more symphonic in nature. Mauricio Barroeta had replaced Demian, but the rest of the line-up remained the same. I wasn't sure what to expect from a Venezuelan progtressive rock act, but it certainly wasn't a delicate and symphonic album with as much strenhgth and depth as this one. The drums and bass are much higher in the mix, and Edurado in particular has produced an incredibly dominant performance ? he understands the impact he has, so there are complete sectins where he doesn't play at all, and others where he is providing much more of a polyrhythmic performance that one would normally expect from this style of music.

All the songs are infectious, compelling, and totally enjoyablel on first hearing. It is hard to imagine that apparently the music was written and recorded with none of the lyrics or even the melody lines worked out beforehand. The instrumental "El Diablo Suelte" is a load of fun, and is easily the most South American thing out there, with some wonderful picked guitar lines, and is that a ukelele I hear? There is a lot here to enjoy, and fans of bands such as Genesis, Kansas and Styx and even The Flower Kings will get a lot out of this.