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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Jason Blake

Subsequent Ruins

Review by Gary Hill

Jason Blake has built up quite a catalog of killer Warr Guitar instrumental music. He's joined on this latest release by Marco Minnemann on drums. The music here has a tendency to rock more than some of his other stuff, but it still has all the cool magic I've come to expect. I think this a little more in-your-face at times, but it's still also reflective and experimental. This might be my favorite of the albums released under his name to date.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023  Volume 2. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.
Track by Track Review
Obsolete Perception
Chiming sort of sounds bring the set into being. That gets reinvented with a heavier guitar vibe. Bombastic drums join, and the cut really drives outward with a lot of hard rocking fury in a very King Crimson-like way. There are some more melodic moments in the midst of the cut, but the overall pattern is set. This is a solid introduction.
Pretense of the Herd
Seemingly even more intense and dramatic, this is another driving powerhouse number. I really love some of the melodic instrumental work that comes over the top. There are some moments here where I swear I can hear keyboards, but the whole album only features Warr Guitar and drums. It drops back to a mellower section mid-track and carries with some cool ambient angles in the mix. It turns heavier and rocking later in the number to take it out.
Follow I (Emanated Hook)
There is a mysterious quality to this cut. An echoey sort of, almost distorted sound brings a sense of otherworldly nature to. it. I gets into more solid stuff further down the road, and the circling pattern of notes works particularly well when it does. This continues to grow and evolve from there.
False Streets of Entanglement
A harder rocking mode takes this right out of the gate. Those Crimsonian elements are all over the track. This is a real powerhouse.
Follow II (The Coercible Leash)
A bit mellower and introspective, I like this one a lot. It still manages some rocking stuff, but it's subdued in comparison to the rest here.
A Bleak Outcome
The epic of the set, this is more than ten-and-a-half-minutes long. This comes in hard-edged and frantic. It works through quite a few changes and modes. There are some nearly metal portions. There is a cool and mysterious sounding mellower section at the end, too.
  
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