Ark - Ark 1999

Genre: Progressive Metal
Format: ape + cue + log
Released: 1999
Label: SENSORY

01. Burning Down

02. Where the Winds Blow

03. Hunchback of Notre Dame

04. Singers at the World's Dawn

05. Mother Love

06. Center Avenue

07. Can't Let Go

"Burrn!" magazine

John Macaluso, who is known as the drummer for TNT, RIOT and YNGWIE MALMSTEEN etc, Tore Ostby who is the guitarist of DC COOPER and was a member of CONCEPTION, Jorn Lande was the singer of THE SNAKES and is now working with ULI JOHN ROTH.

John, Tore and Jorn have formed the new band "ARK" and released their 1st album. Their basical music style is progressive, technical and North Europian HM style and a little like CONCEPTION.

Some songs on the album have a Latin flavour or the bluesy parts with Jorn's voice like David Coverdale. Their new songs have various music tastes. This new album is a tour de force!!

"Young Guitar" magazine

Tore Ostby, who was the guitarist of CONCEPTION, started this new project. This new album is on a basis of the hard rock style, but inluding the inquisitive mind as an artist, it also has an experimental style of sound. Examples of this are; track#2 jazz up solo part and track#3 which has the phrase of Spanish taste.Also, these tracks have the variations of the rhythm. They gave the album various expressions. This is the one of their unique characteristics!

On the other hand, I feel this work is the progressive rock from a point of view of having several musical elements. But it is not the difficult music beyond words. Just simply listen to their music from the artist side and you will get to the core of this album!

SCREAM magazine, Norway
Score: 5/6

Some of you have been waiting a very long time for this release. It is a pleasure to tell you that Tore Шstby, Jшrn Lande and John Macaluso have made a very strong record, although those of you who thought, and hoped, Tore would continue where he left with Conception, might get a little disappointed. Ark has very little in common with the former band of the excellent guitarist.

The Coverdale/Lynnot-sounding voice of Lande injects some influences from the seventies in the music, while the playing of Шstby, and the quite technical drumming of Mr. Macaluso makes it progressive.

This combination is very hard to beat. There are a lot of strong songs here, especially "Burning Down", "Where The Winds Blow" and "Singers At The Worlds Dawn".