Spock's Beard
X

Four years after their previous album, Spock's Beard finally release a new album titled "X," referencing the fact that it is their tenth studio album.

In my view, it seems to have gone somewhat unnoticed compared to other releases. Therefore, it seemed appropriate for me to review it.

In the previous three albums (or let's say even the first three albums without Neal Morse), Nick D'Virgilio, who had taken the helm of the band, led the band to move away from the classic prog structures from which Neal Morse had stubbornly refused to depart (something he continued not to do in his solo work), in order to simplify their sound. With Feel Euphoria, they veered towards harder shores, with hard rock and metal influences and more modern electronic experiments; Octane, on the other hand, aimed to show the more intimate and also catchy side of the band by favoring ballads and decidedly more easy-listening tracks; the self-titled Spock's Beard had some classic prog moments but continued to propose decidedly new alternative solutions for the band.

But with this album, Nick and company decide instead to take a step back and feel the need to return to a more classic prog-rock. In fact, the work is less experimental than the previous ones and more complex. The tracks return to being predominantly long and divided into multiple sections, offering a great variety of melodies within them. But talking about a return to the Morse sound seems a little excessive because the proposed melodies remain those of the more modernized Nick D'Virgilio; in any case, the intention to win back a more classic prog-faithful audience is rather evident.

For the first time, fans were given the opportunity to finance the album's production (similarly to what Marillion did recently with great success), and I would say it was definitely worth it. The album can really be considered the best since Morse's departure. Perhaps it would have been nice if Spock's Beard had embarked on yet another new path that would have brought their sounds who knows where, but from the quality of the album, it seems that this wasn't necessary.

The intro is immediately promising; "Edge Of The In-Between" starts with a bang, with Ryo Okumoto's keyboards suddenly introducing us to the album's atmosphere with a decidedly invasive intro followed by melodic and lively verses that resume toward the end. The central guitar solo and the orchestral melodies in the second half are nice, but I'd say the track is still not much despite a good amount of dynamism. Following is "The Emperor's Clothes," with a nice acoustic intro characterized by a fairly catchy verse-chorus structure with the original and rather unusual rap by Nick D'Virgilio in the verse and with a decidedly jazzy central instrumental section that gives the song a touch of class. And now come the big guns. First, the instrumental "Kamikadze" with prominent Synth and Hammond organ parts and an overall technically outstanding performance, then the suite of over 16 minutes "From The Darkness," well balanced in its various moments and with a beautiful slow central part. "The Quiet House," on the other hand, is based on hard rock-style riffs characterized by a compelling rhythm, but the slow central part before returning to harder riffs is truly commendable.

A special chapter is dedicated to "Their Names Escape Me" because it is a thank-you song to the fans who contributed by financing the production of the album (and pre-ordering it). It is characterized by very well-chosen sounds and consistently well-crafted atmospheres and contains a section in which the names of these contributors are recited. The track is therefore a bonus track reserved for the limited edition downloadable from the band's official website; thus, it is not present in the regular version sold in stores.

Continuing with the tracklist, we find "The Man Behind The Curtain," a rather immediate piece based on fairly catchy rocky melodies and refined yet equally catchy acoustic parts; however, the instrumental section aims to deviate from the catchiness of the rest of the track and showcase the group's technical skills (notable is the bass solo). It closes with one of the masterpieces of the album, which is once again a 16-minute track, "Jaws Of Heaven," where the best things are the frantic rhythms and sweeping epic passages with guitar and keyboard parts that turn out to be among the most fitting of the album, even though the more melodic and orchestral moments are by no means inferior.

Overall, I think the band did an excellent job, and this album should be among the best releases of 2010. Always a step below the masterpieces signed with Neal Morse but superior to the still valid previous works.

Prog rulez!!!