Metamorphosis- Dark
(Prog Rock Records PRR660)
From Aural Innovations May 2009 update
This is the 5th CD by this Swiss band lead by Jean-Pierre Schenk, who plays bass, keyboards, drums and sings on this CD. He is complimented by guitarists Oliver and Roger. While the band had previously been described as very Pink Floyd inspired, this is a darker record but still features Jean-Pierre’s melodic vocals. The guitar playing is quite intense and sometimes very metallic, perhaps a bit too much. Jean-Pierre lays down some very nice synth solos in all the tracks. The Fight is Over is very David Gilmour inspired, especially in the delivery some of the vocals. This one is a more mellow, spacey track that builds up in the later half as the drums take the song into a totally different direction. Hey Man is a 10 minute journey with organ, wild solos, mellow parts, a totally different singing style than the last song, etc.. Waking up starts with some acoustic guitar and is one of the more like radio friendly, ok, only radio friendly track with it’s very melodic runs and threads. The next track has quite a depressing title, although sometimes I feel like this with my own band. Knowing all I do is worth Nothing, begins with some spacey synths, noise, drones and an intense bass line. Very good contrasts with the drums, keys and low key guitars before some nice solos come in. YOU begins with some acoustic guitar and is quite dreamy with some very melodic lead guitar that compliments the vocals. Where do we go Now is 10 minutes long and really picks up the pace and is a more hard driving track, a bit like the opener, with a crunchy metal guitar and these eerie synths. This track has a really great spacey section before coming back to the main track. The CD ends with the short title track, Dark. High quality progressive, spacey, music for progheads.
Check out the band web site at: http://jp-metamorphosis.com
Check out the Record Label web site at: http://www.progrockrecords.com
Reviewed by Scott Heller