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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Unquiet Music Ltd

In The Name Of... (A Prayer For Our Times)

Review by Gary Hill

It would be really hard to slap a label on this album, other than just lumping it in as progressive rock. Much of it is freeform, largely instrumental, weirdness. Yet there are some amazing sung prog numbers, too. There is a huge range between the peaks and the valleys here. This is just such a unique and strangely effective set. The musicians here include Trey Gunn and Markus Reuter, among quite a large ensemble.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2021  Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2021.

Track by Track Review
...The Father (Individuation)
            
Hallowed be thy Name (Anaerobic awakening)

Contrary to the name of the project, this begins very quietly with electronic elements moving along in near silence. The volume level rises somewhat as the number works forward, but never it doesn't get very loud. It's freeform, experimental and tastefully weird. It does get rather noisy as it approaches the end of the track.

Thy kingdom come (Feeling unity)
Coming out of the previous cut, there is a real machine music kind of vibe to this. For some reason I think of the Cybermen a little when this track is playing. It's oddly compelling freeform electronic weirdness. This has some quite musical moments later as it turns more toward almost King Crimson-like elements as guitar does a lot of the work.
Thy will be done (Conditional cases)
An extended piece, this is close to ten-and-a-half minutes long. The track paints some intriguing soundscapes. There are some strange voices heard more as instrumentation along the road. This gets pretty involved and seems a bit less freeform in nature. There are some symphonic elements at play once the track is about three-quarters of the way done. It rises to a peak that extends into the next piece.
,,,The Son (Atomisation)
                 
Our daily bread (Monopolizing spaces)

Fiery and hard-edged rocking sound is in the driver's seat as this cut gets underway. That crescendos and drops away leaving more weird atmospheric texture. Vocals come  in after a time, bringing more of a pure progressive rock concept. I'm reminded a bit of Chris Squire by the vocals. The music has a rather percussive electronic driving concept. There are some pretty amazing sections to this. Some of my favorite parts are the lines of vocals coming in at different angles.

Our trespasses (Producing symmetries)
Continuing the musical themes and concepts of the previous number, there are weird circling concepts and a real King Crimson vibe. I love the vocal arrangement on this thing. There is almost a feeling of menace to the piece, but also plenty of art rock built into it.
...The Holy Spirit (Co-inherence)
                  
But I can forgive (A sound of Now)

There is some killer guitar on this cut, but also a lot of freeform weirdness. The cut is exploratory, freaky and just plain cool.

The Temptation of Time (A Mosaic return)
The strangeness from the previous track is all over this one, too. There are weird layers of sampled voices and strange electronic textures in place. This is bizarre, but also compelling.
Soul delivered (A lullaby for Uma Devi)
This mellower number has a trippy kind of moodiness and sadness to it. There is a bleakness, but also beauty.
Since I can forgive (Another sound of Now)
This has a lot of weirdness built into it. There are noisy parts and trippy sections. Electronics and other elements seems to skate around one another in often noisy fashion.
Amen (Transcendence)
           
Inner glory (The introspection of Edward Maitland)

Another that comes in very quiet, there is a spoken voice that is sped up and slowed down. At about twelve-and-a-half minutes of music, this is another epic. It has a real freaky, science fiction vibe. It feels somewhat dream-like. If so, it turns toward nightmare territory later. There are definitely some psychedelic elements at play. A weird electronic droning, like keys stuck on an organ, take over later in the track. As the voice comes over the top of that, it feels like some weird horror movie.

So be it, actually (Post-epiphany)
Nature sounds are at the heart of this as it starts. It grows outward with strange musical elements. There are trippy concepts here.

 

 
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