Where the 1970s were an era of classic prog bands, the 1990s of prog metal bands, it seems  the 2010s are the time of the one man projects that may or may nog grow in to bands. Last week I posted a review for Oliver Rüsing’s Karibow, earlier I also had a review for Marco Ragni’s Mother of the Sun, and (Robin) Taylor’s Universe. now it’s time for Steam Theory, a one man project of multi-instrumentalist Jason Denkevitz. Meanwhile, the list of pending reviews has a few additional ones (Tiger Moth Tales, which is Peter Jones) and Kalle Vilpuu’s Silver Ligning to name two).

In case of Steam Theory, we are talking about a one man project, as said by Jason Denkevitz, who released his first album in 2010. On that album (Enduring Delirium), and 2012’s Helios Rider, some drummers and a keyboard player were playing their part – on the new album Denkevitz played all instruments himself. In the mean time, he has assembled a four-piece band though, to take the material to live performances.

On this album, which lasts almost 90 minutes, we are treated to 13 tracks, 3 of which are over 9 minutes long. The music of Steam Theory is described on the band’s web site as ‘Attempting to fuse several genres together, the goal was to maintain a priority on strong themes and melodies’. In that, Denkevitz has surely succeeded. Just looking at the notes I took while listening to the album, I come across the words ‘classic prog’, ‘movie sound track’, ‘prog metal’, ‘jazz rock’, ‘classical orchestration’ and even ‘psychedelic or space rock’ at various points. That, combined with the length of some of the tracks and the album itself, shows the strength as well as the weakness of this album: the music is heavily orchestrated, arranged in a non-trivial manner and very diverse. That makes it challenging and interesting to listen too, but also at some point almost impossible to grasp and to stay focused on. But I managed, and if I can do it, there must be more people who can.

So, what do we find on this album? From the opening, it is clear that orchestration, in an almost cinematographic way is an important piece of the music. Not a surprise for those who have read the announcement of the album, and certainly not bad. The first track, title track Asunder, starts like that, and gradually moves more into a rock feel, until exactly half way a visit is paid to jazz rock country, with a fretless bass and a shifting drum pattern as our guide. After this, the track goes off in an almost space rock direction.

The rest of the album shows more of the same heavy, sound track like orchestration, but still every track has it’s own merits. Adrift, which starts with an acoustic guitar with a mediterranean ring to it, later develops into a rockier piece with a guitar lead that borders on metal, and an instrumental part that is almost a classical orchestra. In a similar vein are the tracks Toys, Intar and Escape Velocity. The latter is a lot heavier than the former though – more metal like.

Completely different then those are Fireflies – which could be inspired by either one of the well known pieces The Typewriter, In the Hall of the Mountain King or Sting of the Bumblebee – and Shyft, which is a weird kind of Kraftwerk meets metal. Then, different again, is No Such Thing, which starts with a heavy, low, bass intro and builds up to a piece in which heavy rock and an orchestra compete for the lead. Heavy rock wins, with a biting guitar solo at the end.

The end of the album is marked by the 11 minute Saga, a true movie sound track, that is like a roller coaster ride. To difficult to explain, has to be experienced. Only thing left after this ride is Rejoinder, which indeed rejoins the listener with real life. An acoustic guitar and a (synth?) cello lead us back to reality in a calming way.

An interesting ride, that kept me busy for a while. I admire people like Jason Denkevitz for being able to play all instruments on albums like this. It is always clear though which is their main instrument, the acoustic and electric guitar playing are what makes most of the tracks really shine – even if, according to the liner notes, the main focus was on orchestration. For those who are into complex music (and most prog fans are) this is a recommended roller coaster ride, but be aware that it should be consumed in pieces, or on a long evening alone.

A perfect candidate for Angelo’s Rock Orphanage. That is what Oliver Rüsing delivered under the name Karibow on the album Addicted. There is a tendency amongst progressive (or symphonic) rock fans to dismiss everything that is ‘not prog enough’. As such, the band is missing amongst the list of bands and albums on many prog web sites, despite their bio states that they are influenced by (next to pop) rock and (neo)progressive rock, and they got the German Rock & Pop Award for Best Progressive Band in 2014. Exactly the type of band that led me to come up with the name Rock Orphanage.

Certainly, the prog influences are clear on this album, there is a lot of keyboard/synth  work that goes beyond standard pop and rock tunes, even though the average track length of just over 3 minutes (not counting the two 8 1/2 minute tracks) makes it hard to build soundscapes or include many tempo (and time signature) changes. Luckily, Oliver Rüsing is very much aware of this – being one of those musicians that create the music they like (in this case already since 1997), without trying to fit a certain pigeon hole. As he told me himself: those who like AOR are as much an audience for Karibow as those who like progressive rock – with the track The Cry (Radio Edit) on the album as illustration. A radio ready rock track in the vain of perhaps Toto or Survivor, transferred to the 21st century – with vocals that contain a hint of Sting here and there.

16 tracks on a single album is a lot, and I won’t do a track-by-track on such a lot anymore, as it makes reviews a pain to read. Instead, let’s have a look at some highlight. First of all, there is indeed a lot of music on this album that is perhaps only borderline progressive rock, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Certainly not to those who have a soft spot for bands like Toto, Survivor or even Styx (all in their better days). Tracks like the ballad Primeval, or Place to Be, Always There and Something will not disappoint in that respect.

On top of that, there are more complex and rocky tracks that are certainly part of the progressive rock landscape, with the instrumental F8 Al Ba6 and the varied 9/16 as best examples. For F8 Al Ba6 I wrote in my notes “This is what is all about, a layered instrumental with a keyboard driven tune, nicely supported by the bass and a beautiful lead guitar”. 9/16 is the track that comes closest to what we could call an epic, as it falls apart in different pieces, each with their own characteristics (rocking guitar at the start, keyboard driven melancholic middle…) and tempos. Not to mention a slow, melodic guitar solo.

Also there are small surprises here and there – like the Styx-like keyboard leads in Place to Be and Something, and the keyboard melody that reminds so much of a certain Vangelis track in Always There.

A final word on the production of this album, because after the mix was done by Oliver Rüsing and the mastering by Eroc (former drummer and producer of Grobschnitt). Because the mix is very dense on this album, Eroc tried to find a good balance between dynamics and loudness, and found it by applying mastering settings he had used in the past for mastering Maria Callas albums. That adds a nice anekdote to a fine album, that is certainly worth listening to for AOR fans, and for any rock fan who is in need of good melodies, nice vocals and balanced mix of more and less complex tracks. This one will spin more often in my house for sure.

When you are good at something, you’ll be rewarded. That must be what it felt like for Vermont (US) based Elephants of Scotland. Founded in 2010 by Adam Rabin, they recorded their first album Home Away from Home in 2013. This got them invited to perform as opening act on RosFest 2014, a gig so good and well received that they released it on DVD afterwards. Thanks to my friends at House of Prog, at least indirectly, I met bass player Dan MacDonald in the chat room of Nick Katona’s weekly Mad Platter radio show, and he was kind enough to send me both their albums (in digital form) – for review. So here goes – a review of their second album Execute and Breathe, one for the debut will follow in a few weeks.

As said, the band was founded by Adam Rabin, who takes care of the keyboard work and part of the vocals. He initially established the band with Ornan McLean (drums) and John Whyte (guitar, vocals). This trio was extended with bass player Dan MacDonald, who also sings his parts, after they ran into his ‘bass player needs band’ advertisement in a news paper. Given the prominence of his bass in the bands music, a perfect addition.

The album is filled with powerful, layered rock that I could compare to many of my favourite bands, but I’ll limit myself by saying that some of it sounds like a modern version  of 80s UK acts like Marillion and Pallas, with a bit of Rush mixed in. This becomes clear immediately on the opening track A Different Machine, which has a driving, punchy bass underneath a wailing keyboard – an immediate show of the energy this band has on offer.

This continuous in a completely different way in The Other Room, on which the guitar takes over the lead role from the keyboards. This allows John to show what he is capable off after 40 years of playing while Adam  takes over the vocal duties from Dan. An amazing track about someone using their telepathic abilities to influence others. A short, sinister roller coaster ride of 4 minutes.

This is followed by Amber Waves, which opens with a short keyboard tune and develops into a very well built up rock song, with different moods (with 8 minutes its a short epic with a few movements) that really shows how much of a modern version of aforementioned bands Elephants of Scotland are. Something new to hear in this one on every play.

On TFAY it becomes very obvious that John has a soft spot for Rush and has played as single person tribute to that band in the past. This is a track that, after the Floydian intro, easily reminds of late 70s, early 80s Rush (think Permanent Waves) – and John’s playing and vocals come close enough to fool a passing listener. Apart from the vocals, once again by Adam, Boxless, could fit the same era, but has a completely different feel to it. Here bass and drums cooperate really to put down a bass well underneath keyboards and vocals that build a nice melody together, catchy but not even close to poppy at the same time.

The two parts of Endless, two separate tracks that together fill just over 10 minutes are the cream on the pudding this album is. Again, all influences mentioned before are evident, this one has keyboard walls, a very present bass, melodic guitar and a driving drum beat. The ending of (instrumental) Part 1 actually reminded me of a keyboard infested version of Rush’ 2112-Grand Finale. It is followed by acoustic guitar and keyboards on Part II, a brilliant contrast, which support Adam’s well sung vocals. The percussive work of  Ornan in the build up to the heavier, more up tempo piece that follows is something only an experienced drummer can come up with – just like the drumming he shows in the instrumental mid section. This Part 2 lets all four band members shine, through the tempo  changes and different atmospheres in the separate parts.

But cream needs pudding, and the pudding is what we find in the end of this album in the form of another very much Rush-like track, Mouse Trap. Oh boy, I made that comparison a few times now, blame it on John and Dan, they do sound like Geddy and Alex at times. Still it is the keyboard of Adam and the drum patterns of Ornan that make this into an original Elephants of Scotland track in the end.

In terms of production, I like the way the instruments are mixed here, all instruments can be clearly heard at all times (at least when played, dôh). In terms of sound, a little more dynamics might have been nice – for example in Amber Waves, the choruses could’ve been more dramatic if they were a bit less loud. However, that’s nit picking on a fine album.

I really enjoy this album, and recommend it to anyone who likes powerful modern prog. Looking forward to reviewing their debut and the DVD as well – the former has had a few spins already, the DVD is still in the shrink wrap…