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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Dust of Days

Analog Mind Bender

Review by Gary Hill

This album is a bit uneven, but it has some real peaks. I think that most of the music that's more "different" is put at the end. Personally, I'd call that a mistake. I think that had the last few songs been sprinkled throughout the set, the whole album would have flowed better. Still, this is a good set. It lands somewhere in the vicinity of grunge and alternative rock, but has plenty of punk and metal in the mix, too.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017  Volume 6 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2017.

Track by Track Review
Analog Mind Bender

Fuzz driven, this has a real raw edge to it. Yet, there is an accessible pop kind of vibe to it at the same time. The contrast works well to create a cool rock and roller that's fun. I dig the guitar solo on this quite a bit.

Aurora
Metal and punk are combined on this cut to build a killer hard rocking sound. The bulk of the vocals on this are spoken.
Mustang

Coming in mellower, but still as distorted, this is more on the lines of a ballad at times. It gets into the harder rocking, punky territory later, though. The balance between the two works pretty well, but the vocals don't gel as well on this tune as they do on some of the others.

Heavy

Raw and a bit chaotic, this is another that creates a great bridge between punk and metal. I suppose overall it lands in the alternative rock territory. It's a killer cut and one of the best on the disc.

Little Angel

The instrumental section near the end of this takes it into fuzz covered space rock territory. Beyond that the grungy alternative rock really drives the piece. It's another standout.

My Dear

This cut lands on the mellower, slower end of the spectrum. It makes me think of Radiohead quite a bit. It's moody and still fuzzy. It's another standout.

The Circus

Bass opens this and holds it for a time. Then the cut pounds in with an almost hardcore punk vitality. As the vocals join that comparison becomes more accurate. This is very heavy and metallic at the same time.

Death Vibrations
Feedback guitar starts this like some kind of sonic weapon. The drums join and we're off into another cut that has a lot of hardcore punk built into it. Yet there are elements of psychedelia and a lot more here. In some ways this is tied to stoner metal and early heavy metal. I love the soaring guitar soloing on this piece.
Gamma Ray

While this isn't a big change, it doesn't work as well as some of the rest. It has a strong energy and good distortion level. It just seems a bit awkward at times.

Porcelain

This tune is much more of a balladic grunge piece. It's good and some variety, but not at the same level as some of the rest.

The Shore

Speaking of variety, this song is just piano, voice and violin. It's a mellow and quite pretty ballad.

Ghosts

This cut is over six minutes long. The first two minutes or so are essentially one song. That tune is a mellower, subtle, melodic grunge based alternative rocker. It's one of the highlights of the set. That's followed by quite a bit of silence. Then some weird electronic jam enters and moves it forward. It works to more of an industrial piece from there.  This thing is extensive.

 
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