EXPLORERS CLUB

I was surprised to see that Explorer's Club, a prog side project supergroup headed by the late Magellan keyboardist Trent Gardner, operated out of nearby Vacaville, California in Solano County. Being just about thirty miles away in Sonoma County, it is always pleasing to see some prog come out of the San Francisco Bay Area. With Gardner passing away in 2016 due to unknown causes, "Raising the Mammoth" will be this band's second and final album, being released in 2002 on Magna Carta Records with a slew of guest names.

I admit that I never heard of the band Magellan prior to this random review, but immediately a lot of the names which Gardner was able to feature on this album are extremely familiar. Numerous musicians take part in this project; among them are vocalist James LaBrie and John Myung of prog metal icons Dream Theater, vocalist Steve Walsh and guitarist Terry Livgren of Kansas, the band which brought us one of the most commercially successful prog singles in 1975's "Carry On Wayward Son", drummer Terry Bozzio who did work with the late great Frank Zappa, and even Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, who I was surprised to see has his works featured here on the site despite being a name associated with thrash metal. All of these names immediately create intrigue as to what "Raising the Mammoth" may contain.

Being created long after the constraints of vinyl records were lifted, this album can be best described as a constant stream of highly excessive prog rock for roughly an hour. There are two parts to "Raising the Mammoth", the first being a THIRTY-SIX MINUTE LONG epic split into three movements ranging from eleven to fifteen minutes in length. Gardner does not hesitate to challenge both the listener, and the pre-existing boundaries of what is considered progressive as this album is very expansive and borderline pretentious. This is considered a concept album, although the concept is not clear; if anyone can interpret the lyrics and come to me with a definitive answer I would be greatly thankful. The first movement of "Raising the Mammoth 1" is titled "Passage to Paralysis"; we start off with an epic and grandiose three-minute introduction that eventually meanders between wordless chants a la Jon Anderson on "Close to the Edge" and a wild flurry of guitars. Walsh starts off on vocals as the music mellows down; while I inherently prefer LaBrie's dynamic and modern-sounding voice to the Kansas frontman's, I have to admit that his sound suits the overall mood of this album very well. While I may not understand the point of the lyrics, I think they were more suited to augment the sound of the music, rather than further some sort of concept. We get two solid verses before the music evolves around the six-minute mark into this fast-paced tempo with almost incomprehensible harmonized vocals which I'm not too keen on. Gardner makes it evident to the listener that this is a progressive album with several harsh tempo changes interspersed by his own keyboard solos; if you're a fan of keyboard music in the vein of some sort of modern ELP, this is the album for you. I am not too big a fan of this style, but I still gave this album a chance with an open ear. At nine minutes we get a reprise of the "In my experience..." verse style which I appreciate; still no sign of LaBrie at this point, but Walsh is definitely within his groove in the allocated time for lyrics. From the twelve- minute point the music seems to transition towards this ascending coda overlaid with vocals which radically changes and breaks down all the way to the end of the first part. For a prog album of this stature, Gardner makes very liberal use of vocals, a practice which is expanded upon in the second movement "Broad Decay" where Explorer's Club makes greater use of chant. Walsh remains on vocals; keep in mind at this point we have not heard LaBrie yet, which made me initially think that Gardner was saving perhaps his greatest weapon for some sort of grand finale. The lyrics on "Decay" seem to be somewhat socially conscious and political to an extent, even though I still have no idea what the lyrics actually mean on a literal or figurative scale. This movement starts out very mellow, but still makes room for Gardner's keys, while moving progressively more symphonic into the middle section; near the end we get this sort of gospel chant that concludes the movement which is definitely unique and memorable, but not necessarily good. So far Explorer's Club has provided a rich amount of instrumentation, but much of it has gone in no direction whatsoever. Gardner attempts to make a solid Keith Emerson impression with hordes of keyboard solos, but none of them are particularly memorable.

The third and final movement of the first part of "Raising the Mammoth" is titled "Vertebrates", and it is here that LaBrie finally makes his first appearance of the album. Let me just say that I was totally underwhelmed with how LaBrie was handled on this album; he appears for this weird duet with the backing vocals of Gardner himself, but after this not only does he never appear again, but all vocals cease to exist. Yes, the remainder of this album, at just over thirty minutes, is entirely instrumental. The rest of "Vertebrates" isn't bad; we have this really metal guitar riff with a visible bass line which serves as the foundation for a synth solo, but the entire second part of "Raising the Mammoth" known as "Gigantipithicus" is a twenty-one minute instrumental which features more of the Gardner keyboard solos in addition to some pretty epic musical movements and Friedman ripping guitar solos. One major issue with this issue, at least from what I'm hearing, is pretty mediocre production value. I can barely hear or feel Bozzio's drums; he is just in the background far overshadowed by the keyboards and vocals. Same applies for the bassist Myung; it seems that even though Dream Theater is listed as being on this album, they seldom make an impact, which is disappointing. The heavy emphasis on Gardner's musicianship does not help this album out in the slightest; with such notable names you would think that they would be appropriately used. Nevertheless, much of the epic instrumental is largely forgettable, dotted with the aforementioned solos and some fake endings which just become apprehensive over time. It's like the band is teasing me at this point with the prospect of this album finally being over. Eventually it does end, and it ends in rather unspectacular fashion much to my disdain.

I tried to find things to say about this album, but ultimately I came up largely empty. This will unfortunately be one of my shorter reviews, which is a bit sad considering I had very high hopes for this album to be something along the lines of a four-star performance given the array of names on Explorer Club's roster. Perhaps more listens could awaken a love in this album in the vein of "Tales from Topographic Oceans" but frankly "Raising the Mammoth" is not essential enough to ever really return to. I had no clue of this collaboration's existence prior to hitting a random review, and now I can see why. The music on this album is not bad or even bland, but it just rather falls victim to the textbook prog malaise of having no direction in the slightest. It would have helped to have a decent concept to allow me to ponder while listening to the grandiose modern "earthy" sounds of this LP, but even then the lyrics have even less direction than the music, and the format in which the lyrics are presented in the album booklet is just awful; it is impossible to read as a diagonal block of text. I understand that Trent Gardner, the leader of this project, was attempting to go for a modern approach that was extremely progressive, but there really is nothing to go alongside this music. I considered giving this album a two-star review, but I felt that the strong vocals of Steve Walsh combined with the advanced instrumentation and effort into making a challenging album should just barely save this album from being relegated into being a work for just collectors and fans. It is at least a breath of modern prog, but it is by no means essential and easily forgettable. If you're a huge fan of keyboard-dominated prog and can tolerate a heavy metal tinge to your music, then you may appreciate this album more than I did. I give "Raising the Mammoth" a three-star (70% - C-) rating; does not really factor much into the grand scheme of prog outside of being a supergroup collaboration between a blend of older and modern progressive musicians.

It's hard to understand how did Trent Gardner manage to convince such a stellar line-up of musicians and vocalists to participate in this project when the composition level is so low, and yet here we have John Petrucci, Terry Bozzio, Billy Sheehan, James La Brie, Steve Howe, Derek Sherinian, Matt Guillory? you name them, if this is not a supergroup I don't know what it is. I guess they were well paid.

Only the first track "Fate Speaks" is resonably good from the composition viewpoint, with a killer 4 minutes introduction mixing the styles of Magellan and Dream Theater followed by Magellan classic sounding verses / chorusses and great instrumental sections, and clocking 16 minutes it makes for a strong track, but even then it relies heavily on the soloing qualities of the guest musicians.

The other tracks are rather poor compositions only saved by the superb (and mostly long) solos, in particular Petrucci shines throughout the album, he was really inspired in this period. The inclusion of some flute and winds helps maintaining some interest but not enough, and the short appearances of Steve Howe on the acoustic guitar are rather uninspired for what we can expect from him.

Fans of prog-metal with special focus on proficient solos may surely enjoy this, but I don't think it deserves more than 2 stars.

The suite Raising The Mammoth is divided into three sections. What's a little confusing is that both my stereo and computer show 44 tracks for this album instead of the four long ones that are shown on the back of the cd cover.Yup something like this drives me crazy. It is interesting though as you listen to the music there are distinct changes after each part, so the 44 songs or sections are warranted I suppose. Instrumentally this album is impressive much of the time. I can't say the two vocalists are my favourites by any means but they are both fine. I like when the sound finally settles down on the 13th part and we get some atmosphere. From here on out the tempo and mood shifts quite a bit. Not a fan of the backing vocals that are prevelant. Lots of synths too. Love the guitar opening the 27th section though.

I think I like this a little more than the debut but it's still a 3 star album at best.

This time the mastermind behind project is Trent Gardner and it definitely shows because it all sounds just like a Magellan album on a grander scale. In a way the technology is somewhat to blame for making people think that they can basically compose the main outline of the compositions and then send them around to all the collaborators without ruining the overall quality of the material.

I guess that John Petrucci fans did get a kick out of this album judging by the amount of Fate Speaks guitar solo covers that have are available on YouTube! I definitely don't blame them because the only thing that Age Of Impact has got going for it are the solo spots and even those can sometimes feel like a novelty. Being a collaboration album every artist has to get enough space for a memorable effort which sometimes creates truly awkward moments like for example the acoustic guitar solo spot for Steve Howe on Time Enough.

If you're a fan of creative collaboration albums then you should look elsewhere to get your kicks because this album is only for hardcore fans of the collaborators who are featured on this release.

Edit: Dream Theater fans might recognize traces of the Finally Free solo from Scenes from a Memory on Fading Fast (between 5:20-6:40). The track can be streamed here on Prog Archives so go ahead and look it up just for fun!

**** star songs: Fate Speaks (16:00)

*** star songs: Fading Fast (8:45) No Returning (8:20) Time Enough (9:15) Last Call (11:10)

"Fate Speaks" The brief classical guitar introduction has little to do with the massive sonic explosion that follows it. Clear lead guitar cuts through the thick mix of instruments. For the most part the lead guitar throughout is typical of the showiness associated with progressive metal (in other words, constant shredding), and the vocal melody is not that enjoyable, but the bass playing and drum work make up for an awful lot. The keyboard work is also a consolation in the generally uninteresting composition.

"Fading Fast" A haunting opening, some pleasant classical guitar, strange keyboards, and electronic percussion makes up the weird and eclectic opening of this track. After a brief guitar solo, there's the singing of some trite lyrics over bland synthesizer pads and that same electronic percussion. If I'm not mistaken, the guitar bit just five-and-a-half minutes in sounds a lot like one of the main themes from Dream Theater's Metropolis Part II: Scenes from a Memory. The last few minutes contain some interesting keyboards and guitars.

"No Returning" The previous track goes right into this one, and soon enough, an acoustic guitar takes over. The keyboard sections are closer to symphonic acoustic rock than anywhere else, and are probably the highlights of the album.

"Time Enough" The vocals here are snotty-sounding, and there's some spoken word that's hardly discernible. The speedy guitars over the slow rhythm sounds impressive, but really isn't. The trombone is out of place, but really welcome given this track. The bass flourishes are exceptional. The trouble with this one is the vocals- they're just bad, especially over a stark keyboard.

"Last Call" The last track suddenly becomes a heavy metal song, but the vocalist this time seems to be pushed down in the mix. For the most part, it's a fairly basic structure that doesn't offer anything particularly new. By this point, the shredding lead guitar grows weary over such a repetitive background, This piece is little more than a long solo that wears out its welcome.

Explores Club is obviously a project strongly inspired by the classic Prog bands of the 70's. But they are not only inspired by these 'Prog-mammoths', they include some of them within their ranks. On the first Explorers Club album, Age Of Impact, we could hear Steve Howe and on this second album we can hear Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren from Kansas. The presence of these two gentlemen together with the fact that I very much liked Age Of Impact made me very interested in Raising The Mammoth. While I think that it is not up to par with the first, I was not disappointed by this album.

Steve Walsh sings lead on major parts of the album and he is in good form here. Other parts are handled by James LaBrie and some by project leader and producer Trent Gardner himself. Like on Age Of Impact we also hear contributions from some other members of Dream Theater (but not John Petrucci this time). Guitar duties are taken over by Marty Friedman which is not a bad replacement. Still, Raising The Mammoth is a bit more keyboard oriented compared to Age Of Impact. Terry Bozzio of UK fame (among other bands) is also once again aboard. The presence of Prog legends like Bozzio, Livgren and Walsh really lends this project some classic credibility that often lacking in most new Prog bands.

Explorers Club manages to create something interesting of their own; heavily informed by the classics, and sometimes by them, but not copying them. So while Explorers Club clearly belongs to a genre and a tradition, I do not find them derivative. At least not in the blatant sense of so many Neo-Prog and Prog Metal bands trying to sound exactly like their older heroes without having the direct relation to them like in Explorer's Club.

There is a slight Metal sound and feeling on several passages but much less so than in Dream Theater, for example. As I said, Raising The Mammoth is slightly more keyboard dominated reminding of Emerson Lake & Palmer. But there is even a slight New Age/World Music influence in this music but not as much as on Age Of Impact.

The album is divided into two main parts called Raising The Mammoth 1 and Raising The Mammoth 2 (AKA Prog-O-Matic) Gigantipithicus. Raising The Mammoth 1 is in turn divided into three parts. Somewhat confusingly the tracks on the CD do not follow this division, however. The albums having as many as 44 tracks! This makes it the case that hearing this album is mp3 format becomes tedious with a slight glitch between every track. You therefore really need the CD. Might this be the motivation behind having so many tracks?

Raising The Mammoth 1 very good and is up to par with the material on Age Of Impact. Raising The Mammoth 2 (AKA Prog-O-Matic) Gigantipithicus, however, does not only have a very silly title but it is a 28 minute long instrumental that I feel lacks any clear direction. It is not awful by any means but it is not very memorable. This brings this album down a bit.

Still, this is recommended for those who liked Age Of Impact and for those who follow the careers of the individual musicians involved. For the average Prog fan, however, this is a good, but non-essential album.

Explores Club is obviously a project strongly inspired by the classic Prog bands of the 70's (some of which some participants here belong(ed); Yes, UK). But while Explorers Club clearly belongs to a genre and tradition, I do not find them derivative. At least not in the blatant sense of so many Neo Prog and Prog Metal bands trying to sound exactly like their older heroes. The presence of legends like Howe and Bozzio lends this project some legacy often lacking in most newer Prog bands. Explorers Club manages to create a sound of their own; informed by the classics, but not copying them.

There is a slight metal sound and feeling on several passages but much less so than in Dream Theater. The sound of Age Of Impact has nothing to do with the 80's and 90's Trash metal that said band would lean so heavily towards on most of their post-Images And Words albums. Surprisingly, there is also sometimes an almost New Age or World Music influence on this album! Some parts of the second "impact" sounding a bit like Mike Oldfield with (moderately used) programmed drums and some exotic percussion. This feels fresh and sounds interesting to my ears.

The five "impacts" are basically one long, 50 minute + song. Bass, guitar, drums and keyboards are all excellently played. And the vocals and lyrics are very good too. The guitar surprisingly sometimes sounds a bit like Allan Holdsworth on some parts. The balance between electric and acoustic guitars is very good and there are also some other instruments, like a Jethro Tull-like flute solo at one point!

Age Of Impact actually made an impact on me and I consider it one of the best newer Prog albums (i.e. albums not from the late 60's to early 80's)

Highly recommended!

"Fate Speaks" is a good example of a commercial sounding tune, and vocally it reminds me of JEFFERSON STARSHIP. It opens with some intricate acoustic guitar from Steve Howe before heaviness arrives before a minute. The guitar is excellent, and actually the first 4 minutes are really good but then the vocals come in and it goes down hill for me. Pertucci kills on this one though. I have to mention Derek Sherinian's solo late followed by another Pertucci solo to end it. "Fading Fast" features Matt Bradley from DALI'S DILEMMA on vocals which for me is an improvement over the first track. Not really a melody until 3 minutes in when heavy drums and bass come in. Vocals a minute later as it calms down. Vocals then guitar soar 5 1/2 minutes in. Pertucci again shines 7 1/2 minutes in. Great ending as vocals join in. "No Returning" features some ripping guitar before 2 minutes. LaBrie sings on this one but not until around 4 1/2 minutes. Flute is featured as well. It's nice and heavy when LaBrie starts to sing, it gets lighter on the chorus though. "Time Enough" opens with some good grinding guitar as D.C.Cooper comes in vocally. For me this is the best vocal performance on the album. The guitar after 2 minutes sounds amazing from James Murphy. Some horns and waves of synths as it becomes atmospheric. Acoustic guitar from Howe joins in. It never does get back to the heavy sound of earlier as keys and samples follow before reserved vocals come in. I much prefered the first part of the song. "Last Call" has LaBrie back on vocals. This one has a nice heavy sound. Synth solo 2 1/2 minutes in. I like the drumming 2 minutes later and the vocals(Gardner) that follow. More great drumming after 6 minutes from Bozzio. Killer guitar solo before 7 minutes by Pertucci again. Murphy solos during the choruses.

Lots to like on this one. Pertucci for me is the one who stands out on this record.

The 1st moment i saw this album on this site i thought: well, yet another side project, but it sound promising, lets take a look. From the 1st moment i heard this album i realized that it was a great album and its one of the few (well, i actually got a lot of albums on this list) that i can hear non-stopping for almost all day long.

Here, Trent composed an album about the end of something that i still long to know what is it, but i guess its the end of the world. The album is, in fact a five piece symphonic prog epic with a bit of metal in it, since the whole album is actually 1 big song divided in 5 parts.

Musically, the album is great. Besides the incredible composing by Trent, it gathers some of the prog rock greatest musicians to play. The result of it is definitely, a positive impact.

Fate Speaks: great kick off. It has numerous good guitar and keyboard solos, some nice drumming by Terry Bozzio and has the Cairo's singer, who's voice remember me Jon Anderson.

Fading Fast: mediocre, if compared to fate speaks, just like welcome to the machine when compared to shine on crazy diamond. That means that its a good music, but its worse when compared to its predecessor. Here the music is much slower, remembering a ballad or something.

No Returning: no returning is quite like a reprise of fate speaks, but with some interesting musical modulations and some different arrangements. It also have lots and lots of guitar and keyboard solos.

Time Enough: here, its like a omniscient voice is warning someone that the time is ending. I don't really get it, but the song is great tho, looking like a MUCH better version of fading fast.

Last Call: the end of the music and the end of the album is terrific! Frantic keyboards, guitars and drumming. If you consider that the album talks about the end of the world here the world is coming to an end.

Overall rating: this album is great, but its definitely not a progressive rock masterpiece. However, i think the 4 star grade is too low. Damn rating, there should be middle ratings, like 4.5, 3.5, 2.5, and so on. Since there is no middle ratings, i gotta play by the rules, so 5 stars

But eventhough it has become a highly original concept album which is also loved by quite a number of people (or at least appreciated) I can't help being disappointed about it but that has also to do with the inevitable comparison with its predecessor. I mean there are no high quality mindblowing guitar solos on this one and also hardly any brilliant instrumental passages like on Age of Impact. The vocals are more dominant on this album than on Age of Impact. And a genuine piece of criticism I have is the in some cases repetitive passages that are annoying to me really.

This is more like a piece of art to me. And you know what it is with art. You have to feel the idea of its creator and if you don't it mostly doesn't mean anything for you. That's exactly the case for me here. I have no connection with this album, I can detect a lot of original music but nothing for my personal taste. Then again, I'm a Philistine so that probably explains.

So I wouldn't be too disappointed with this review if I was Explorer's club or a great fan of this album. It's (like always) just an opinion. I still give it 3 stars because I know it's something special.