On disc: Roswell Six

 
 Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Terra Incognita: A Line In The Sand
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 

Terra Incognita: A Line In The Sand

(ProgRock Records - 2010)



 
 

 

Last year the first Roswell Six album was presented, the album based on the first part of Kevin Anderson's novel. Now part two is ready to be released. This time Henning Pauly (Frameshift) was asked to write the music and produce the album, he also plays all instruments, while Mr. Anderson wrote the lyrics. The singers cast includes Michael Sadler (ex-Saga) who also been part of the debut among Kansas' Steve Walsh, Sass Jordan, Charlie Dominici and Arjen A. Lucassen - to name a few.

As the second part of the story is about the war the music is darker and heavier, but still epic. At the opener Barricade they musically remind me of a progressive version of Saxon... with Steve Walsh handling the vocals. Whirlwind is kicking off heavy with metallic riffing, but when Michael Sadler joins in it becomes a progressive hard rock song with a prominent bass line. Sadler is teaming up with Nick Storr (The Third Ending). One of my favorites is The Crown which is a prog rocker with a 70's sound, and it's Sass Jordan's powerful voice which make you think the 70's rock, coz she sounds a bit like Janis Joplin... Time for a break. Loyalty is a great piano-based ballad - and Sadler's voice will give you shivers! Michael Sadler shows one more time what a great singer he is. My Father's Son offers heavy riffs and some Oriental sound elements at the beginning. Time for Steve Walsh and Charlie Dominici to take over the mic and the twosome is making this song special. A really heavy tune, but also epic with a symphonic edge. A real heavy one is When God Smiled On Us, but mid-paced progressive passages and Nick Storr's and Alex Froese's vocals take off the edge a bit. A sonic roller coaster ride with a great vocal performance of the two singers! Sass Jordan returns for Need, an emotional rock tune. Just beautiful! For Spiral Steve Walsh returns while Alex Froese is adding the backing vocals at this progressive rocker. Time for Battleground, the only instrumental on this album. Pauly manages to make time flying while listening to this 6+ minutes long instrumental. The closer is called Victory and is one more tune done by Michael Sadler. With more then 9 minutes running time it's the longest track on this album. Victory is a bombastic, prog rocker and has some Saga-ish moments. Another great one off Terra Incognita: A Line In The Sand!

Everybody who loves the first album will love this one, even if it's a bit different... Can't wait to hear the final part! And I hope when that one is out that they bring it onto the stage - and that we don't have to wait 20+ years to see it live - like we did have to for Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War Of The Worlds!

 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon

(ProgRock Records - 2009)



 
 

 

Roswell Six is a kind of all-star project - and if you take a look at the list of involved musicians the expectations get even higher! Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon is a concept album based on the novel Terra Incognita: The Edge Of The World by best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson. The music is written by keyboardist Erik Norlander and the album should accompany the book, so the lyrics been written by Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta. Unfortunately I haven't read the book before getting the CD, but I'll check it out!

The album kicks off with organ and then the opener Ishalem develops into a kind of prog rock musical tune. Its mainly the vocals who give it this musical edge... The opener also gives an idea what to expect - symphonic prog rock without extremely complex parts. With The Call Of The Sea they can enchant you - it's the vocal performance of Lana Lane, Michael Sadler and John Payne which is outstanding! At I Am The Point James LaBrie is taking over the microphone and technically he's doing a good job, but I miss a bit the intensity... the passion. But still he is doing much better then many others. With acoustic guitar and violin they kick off Letters In A Bottle - and Michael Sadler is just awesome! Very emotional and touching! At Halfway Lana Lane could shine and Anchored is sung by James LaBrie who's doing better this time. A heavy symphonic rocker is Here Be Monsters! And again John Payne, Michael Sadler and Lana Lane team up. A strong combination. At the instrumental The Sinking Of The Luminara it's time for bassist Kurt Barabas to shine. But also guitarists Gary Wehrkamp and Chris Brown will get their chance. Swept Away and Beyond The Horizon are among my favorites, but also Letters In A Bottle. Merciful Tides / Letters In A Bottle (Reprise) opens up with acoustic guitar and Martin Orford's flute. An enchanting track before the instrumental The Edge Of The World is closing this chapter.

For fans of complex prog rock this is probably a bit too shallow, but if you like symphonic prog rock which is created to tell a story and not just to show skills and technical virtuosity, then you will enjoy Terra Incognita! Don't get me wrong, I don't want to minimize the talent and the craftsmanship of any of the involved musicians! They just support the story without a clash of egos shown in the music. In a way this album reminds me of Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds, just that this album is more progressive... Well done!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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