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Bushwhack Bushwhack Review by Greg Olma Sometimes you just come across something that is so good you almost want to keep it a secret. Bushwhack is just one of those things. Hailing from Connecticut, this 4 piece is a prog fan’s dream. The CD is completely instrumental and mixes elements of Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Rush. None of the tunes here are commercial, yet there is a catchiness to the music. This is the type of album that can appeal to non-musician and gear heads. I normally like my prog with lyrics but when the songs are this good, I can overlook the lack of vocals. If you are a prog fan, your record collection is not complete without Bushwhack. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

In Solitude The discstarts off with this spacey intro. It is only 2 minutes long so there is not much to say other than it sounds like intro music for their live show.

The Greatest Wall Starting off heavy, kind of like a heavy metal Porcupine Tree, the tune shifts into a Rush sound. It has a very “song” based structure so people like me can appreciate the music and follow along instead of being submitted to a instrumental wank-fest. I also like the melodic solo which fits it perfectly.

Future’s Passed This has more of a modern prog sound as opposed to stuff like Yes or Genesis. It is definitely more laid back than “The Greatest Wall” but still has enough going on to keep your attention.

Guacamole There is a cool funky bass intro that starts this tune. Once the track kicks in, it has a Rush Hemispheres-era sound that quickly shifts into a heavy Dream Theater part. Damn, these guys are good. They are able to blend different parts into one coherent piece.

Sea Of Tranquility Acoustic guitar and keyboards are the focus to this balladic instrumental. It is mellow for about half the track and then around the 3 minute mark it turns into a bit of a rocker.

Menace This song starts off with some heavy metal guitar riffing that has some middle eastern keyboards over the top. As the song progresses, it works its way into a jazz prog tune with some metal sprinkled in for flavor.

Sever The Sky Here is a heavy Dream Theater type of rocker that gives the keyboards a lot of room to show off. There are some keyboard sounds that remind me of classic Deep Purple but overall, this is prog metal all the way.

Sirens I hear elements of Porcupine Tree on this tune but they do mix in a lot of the current prog metal sounds into it as well.

Introspection As a title like this would suggest, this is kind of a mellow ballad type of tune. There is some great keyboard and guitar work on this piece. I recommend headphone to catch the subtle textures here.

In Flames Although I may use the words prog metal a lot to describe the songs, each track is unique and has different sounds. Here they keep to a very prog metal structure with some simple riffing but changing pace and textures.

Mariachi Massacre The keyboards on the intro to this cut give it a very frantic feel but it quickly goes mellow with a little Jethro Tull and Dream Theater rolled into it.

Head Trauma Each instrument comes in and builds on the ones already there making it kind of a cool intro. This rocker has a little bit of Enchant mixed in with the usual elements.

Honor The intro is a bit like newer Marillion and it contains that melodic Steve Rothery guitar sound. A little bit of Jethro Tull is mixed in to this cut as well. The end of the track goes back to the intro tune “In Solitude” and bookends this disc very nicely.

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