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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Nineteentwelve

New World Order

Review by Gary Hill

This is a double CD set from Nineteentwelve. Well, technically it's from that prog outfit and Omenopus, but the first CD is strictly Nineteentwelve. For that reason, it makes sense to look at the two separately. That first disc is quite probably my favorite of Nineteentwelve's catalog. Every song works so well. It has both familiar and unique sounds. It's just a masterpiece. The thing is, pretty much all of that can be said about the second CD, too. The sounds of the two are very different, but both are stunning, rich and vibrant. I'd recommend this one to just about any prog fan who is open to newer forms of progressive rock.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023  Volume 1. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

Track by Track Review
A
                   
New World Order
                      
New World Order

Keyboards bring this in and gradually rise upward. It feels very much like Alan Parsons Project as it evolves from there. As a melodic guitar solos amidst this ambient tapestry later it calls to mind Pink Floyd to some degree. They work out into the song proper after the three-minute mark. When they do it makes me think of what you might get if you merged Pink Floyd and Marillion. The vocals come in, and the track keeps growing. It peaks around the six-minute mark. Piano takes over, and the cut gradually builds out from that point. It eventually gets pretty powerful again for a time, but then drops back to a piano solo again. They rebuild things from there. Melodic electric guitar rises up to deliver some killer soloing. That section gives way to another Pink Floyd like movement. They keep things moving and growing. There is a killer keyboard driven movement further down the road that is among my favorite music of the piece. Then the vocals take it to another dropped down movement before keys find the way out from there. It builds back out into the song proper, and that carries it through. At almost 16-and-a-half minutes of music, this definitely the epic of the set. It's also so powerful.

The Eagle
Based around more of a mainstream guitar based prog sound as it gets going, this works into powerful soaring stuff for the chorus. This piece is decidedly more straight-line and AOR. It's no less prog, though.
The Last Train
Piano serves as the backdrop for the vocals as the cut begins. It builds and grows as it continues. There are some decidedly evocative sections. This essentially a prog power ballad overall.
World Of Change
Some spoken talking about changing society play over the top of piano as this works forward. It builds as an instrumental piece with just the spoken soundbites over the top of it. This is quite a powerful number.
Broken Stones
I dig the driving hard-edged prog that controls a lot of this. Pink Floyd is a valid reference here, too. The cut makes good use of contrast between mellower and more rocking sections. The keyboard movement is a great touch. This also includes some powerhouse guitar and keyboard interplay as the instrumental takes it onward.
Everything We Have Lost
Much more of an AOR prog vibe is on display here. The cut is another classy piece of music. It has some intriguing changes, getting pretty heavy at times. The instrumental work later in the piece is purely on fire. I really like the keyboard solo a lot, but dismiss the killer guitar solo that follows it at  your peril.
The Hand That Feeds
A Pink Floyd like bit of drama starts this. That drops away, leaving some intricate acoustic guitar from there. The vocals come in over that. Overall, this is a standard guitar based ballad, but it feels like prog because of the context of the rest of the set.
B
                     
The Hybrid Project - Chapter One: Origins
                    
Log 1. The Mourning

Sound effects get this going with an atmospheric texture. A spoken female comes in to deliver a science fiction log report. A cool, rubbery prog groove brings the track in from there. Male sung vocals come in over the top of this artsy, rather space rock based arrangement. There are definitely some industrial and techno angles at play as this drives forward later.

Log 2. Day 1. The Tides - Part 1
This starts with another log section, this one feeling sped up and artificial. That gives way to a prog ballad approach. It has some non-lyrical vocals over the top. This drives out into some edgy, rocking territory as it evolves and the actual vocals are heard. This again has plenty of techno sound in the mix. There is a science fiction, effects laden section further along on the musical journey. Another log entry comes in, this one more like the one on the first track.  A mellower, space rock meets prog ballad approach takes the song later.
Log 3. Day 4. Fight For Life (On Film)
This is started with another spoken log. From there it drives out into some hard edged and metallic screaming modes. This turns toward some powerhouse space rock further down the road. The spoken log is heard at one point along the hard rocking section, but overall the male sung vocals are the main thing here.
The Tides - Part 2
Much of this is mellow and atmospheric. There is more of a piano ballad approach further down the road, though.
Log 4. Day 6. Give Me Your Heart
Mellower atmospherics make up the backdrop of the log section. It turns toward more driving keyboard stuff for the entrance of the sung vocals. The tune fires out from there into a some powerhouse electronic space rock type of stuff. It turns more guitar driven before a mellower section emerges again. The cut drives outward from there to more driving prog rocking stuff. The combination of male and female vocals on this works great.
 
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