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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Enchant

Blink of An Eye

Review by Gary Hill

Fans of modern neo prog will surely like this disc. There’s not a bad song on the set. For my money, though, it would have been a stronger album if they had arranged the tracks differently. It seems like they’ve grouped similar songs together – and that’s a great way to make them feel the same. Had they shifted the stuff around so that there was more of a variety from song to song this would have certainly been stronger.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2009  Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Under Fire
Keys start this. That quickly drops back. Then guitar is added to the mix. It gets some serious crunch as it grows from there. I'm definitely reminded of Dream Theater in a lot of ways. The cut gets another layer as the vocals join. This is catchy. It's metallic. Yet, it's also purely prog to a large degree. I love the mellower, melodic movement. The vocals and some of the music make me think of Kansas quite a bit. The jam that ensues around the three and a half minute mark is a real powerhouse. It has some definite metal in the mix. It's also quite well related to the music of Dream Theater. It resolves toward a soaring, triumphant movement beyond there that makes me think of Kansas again. That movement takes the piece to the end.
Monday
Percussion leads this off and then vocals and other elements join. This is less crunchy than the last number and perhaps even closer to King’s X than to Dream Theater. They take this through several variations and it’s more purely melodic than the previous piece. There’s a tasty instrumental break that, while crunchy, is perhaps close to fusion or something from Joe Satriani or Steve Vai.
Seeds of Hate
This in a motif that’s rather similar to the previous number. There is a killer fusion instrumental jam on this one, though. It’s far more towards pure fusion than the one on “Monday.” It’s also a scorching yet tasty jam and this is one of my favorite pieces on show here.
Flat Line
Coming in with a frantic fusion like jam that feels like an extension of the previous cut, this shifts out to a King’s X like jam as they carry forward. It’s a good piece, but the disc is starting to suffer a bit from being too monolithic.
Follow the Sun
They change things up a bit here. This one is essentially an anthemic and pretty balladic number. It’s a good tune and represents a nice bit of much needed variety. 
Ultimate Gift
This seems to hold some of that mellower styling we heard on the last track, but there’s more of the harder rock sound that has pervaded so much of the disc. At times this reminds me of a Tommy Shaw composition for Styx – mind you with a bit more crunch. The vocals on this one definitely make me think of Tommy Shaw.
My Everafter
Now we’re in the midst of another rut. Whereas several songs in a row earlier where in the hard rocking King’s X kind of territory we now get the third mellower piece in what is becoming a new monolithic approach. That said, there is a cool harder edged jam later that has both some Rushish like elements and more Dream Theater and fusion sounds.
Invisible
This is more purely prog like and perhaps a bit along the lines of the opening number, but more melodic and less crunchy.
Despicable
Harder rocking and almost metal, this is actually one of the strongest pieces on show – making it a great choice to close out the set.
 
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