01. Promised Land 02. The Prisioner 03. Death & Illusions 04. Inner 05. Ethiopia 06. Eternal 07. Vigilante 08. The Prophecy
Vitalij Kuprij keyboards
Marco Ferrrigno guitars on left channel
Javier Leal guitars on right channel
Philip Bynoe bass
Jon Doman drums
Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter I had no idea what to expect when I put "Promised Land" into the CD player. It was pretty obvious that it was going to be instrumental music as I could see no credit given to a vocalist. Also, I had a vague idea about virtuoso keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij's role in Artension, but hadn't heard his playing in any manner, shape, or form (oops, I was wrong - I've heard Kuprij on James Murphy's "Feeding The Machine"). Of course, it goes without saying that I'd never heard of the two feature guitarists on "Promised Land" either; Marco Ferrigno and Javier Leal were complete unknowns to me.
Regardless of the players, one spin of "Promised Land" will have your head spinning if you are a fan of the neoclassical style of instrumental metal. Often this style is associated with one guitarist (Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, Yngwie J. Malmsteen) or occasionally two guitarists (Marty Friedman/Jason Becker). But to hear three virtuosos sharing inspiration, pushing each other, and adding their distinctive musical voices to the performances herein was quite a trip. The music veers more to the style of Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Tony MacAlpine than anyone else I’ve mentioned so far.
Guitarist Javier Leal gives off vibes like a possessed mix of Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Tony MacAlpine as he struts his six-string histrionics. Guitarist Marco Ferrigno has a more diverse approach to his sections. All the while, keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij is laying down a melodic foundation for the music to take flight as well as taking a number of opportunities to solo and give the proceedings a non-guitar explosion into instrumental heaven.
Bassist Philip Bynoe and drummer Jon Doman are pretty much relegated to true rhythmic support, but occasionally get the chance to elevate the music with their skillful playing to near-Liquid Tension Experiment heights. That, my friends, is high praise.
"Promised Land" is a thoroughly enjoyable listen for those of you who enjoy instrumental metal.
1. Triana 2. Zona rosa 3. Origen 4. Arco Iris 5. Andaluza 6. Lamentos
Tomas Vega - guitars
Guty Lopez - bass
Larry Martin - drums
Pedro Ample - percussion
Rafael Guillermo - piano, organ, mini-Moog
Enrique Carmona - guitar
Julian Llinas - string arrangements
ProgArchives, erik neuteboom: In the early Nineties I bought some Spanish progrock magazines (Sirius) in order to improve my ‘one-year-Spanish’ and to discover more of the exciting world of Spanish progressive rock. In one Sirius I noticed an add in which Angel Romero (a known Spanish proghead from Madrid who later moved to the USA) offered his entire progrock LP collection because of a dust-allergy. I felt like a vulture but it was no problem to him, he was happy with my appreciation for the socalled Rock Andaluz, the wonderful blend of Spanish flamenco and progrock. I asked him for advise and bought albums from Cai, Azahar and Vega. On this debut LP guitarplayer Tomas Vega delivers a pleasant progressive blend of flamenco and rock.
1. Triana (3:55): This track is a transition from Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz his work. It contains a cheerful climate and a swinging rhythm-section featuring jazzy inspired flamenco guitar runs, a bit polished string-arrangements and an exciting duel between flowing electric guitar and fast flamenco guitar. 2. Zona rosa (5:53): The first and final part sounds romantic with warm flamenco guitar and tender acoustic piano runs. In between a swinging rhythm and splendid flamenco guitar work, great electric guitar overdubs (howling with echoes from early Triana), propulsive conga percussion and a dynamic rhythm-section. 3. Origen (5:07): This song delivers the most obvious Morish atmosphere (for many years Andalusia was occupied by the Arabs in medieval times): a mid-tempo with an adventurous rhythm-section, exciting flamenco guitar and fiery electric guitar (again some great overdubs), evoking bands like Triana, Mezquita and Iceberg (also Rock Andaluz). 4. Arco Iris (3:30): It starts with warm and sensitive flamenco guitar and soaring strings. Then an accellaration delivering a mid-tempo with powerful electric guitar, sparkling Fender Rhodes piano and again exciting flamenco guitar play. 5. Andaluza (5:32): The titletrack (a transition from Spanish composer Enrique Granados) has a romantic undertone due to the romantic string- arrangements, bringing Alameda to my mind. The jazz inspired flamenco guitar work reminds me strongly of the pivotal and innovative flamenco guitarist Paco De Lucia, outstanding! 6. Lamentos (6:06): The final song delivers great interplay, sensational electric guitar overdubs and alternates between mellow with romantic piano and sensitive flamenco guitar and swinging with fiery electric guitar (an Andalusian undertone).
1. Three Score And Ten, Amen 2. Time Lament 3. Take Me Back To Doomsday 4. The Daughter Of Time 5. Theme For An Imaginary Western 6. Bring Out Your Dead 7. Downhill And Shadows 8. The Time Machine
Jon Hiseman: Drums, producer
Dave "Clem" Clempson: Guitars, Vocals
Dave Greenslade: Organ, Keyboards, vibraphone
Mark Clarke: Bass, vocals
Chris Farlowe: Vocals
Dick Heckstall-Smith: Saxophones
Barbara Thompson: Flute , Saxophones
Louis Cennamo: Bass
This band had potential. This band had good players. This band really knew how to merge art-rock with jazz so that it would preserve both the emotionality of the former and the colourfulness of the latter. This band lost James Litherland on guitar/vocals and replaced him with equally nimble guitarist Dave Clempson. And then this band went ahead and replaced its lead singer. And lo and behold, here we have the 'King Midas In Reverse' principle. It's a good thing I've never heard any of Chris Farlowe's solo stuff; if he sounds just as shitty on his regular releases, it spared me a couple of really bad dreams, and if it wasn't until his short stint in Colosseum that he began to sound like that, I would have managed to tolerate a severe disappointment. Anyway, Farlowe's vocals on this album are dreadful. They are pretty powerful, yes, he's belting as if he's trying to get out of his skin, but you can never tell, never ever tell if the guy's primary wish is to sing like (a) a pretentious operatic crooner, (b) a passionate soulster, (c) a hoarse grizzly jazzman, or (d) a dumb rip-roaring cock-rocker. He milks all four of these emplois, as it seems to me, at absolute random choice; the song can begin as an art-rock aria and then transform into a metal rocker or a jazz-pop throwaway, all at a single wave of Mr Farlowe's vocal cords. Don't get me wrong, he's got a good pair, but it's been long proved that it's not the vocal capacities that matter, it's your ability to make the best of 'em that does. And this guy is simply horrendous in this respect. Yuck, I've never been so let down by anybody's vocals since I last listened to Mr Coverdale. Minus one point to Mick Jagger who had the nerve to ever promote this guy, much less giving him 'Out Of Time' to cover. Mick, how could you? There's only one track on the entire album that I can tolerate vocalwise, that would be 'Downhill And Shadows'; not sure if it's Farlowe on vocals there, but if it's him, that's one example of a nicely done, laid-back bluesy work. That's the problem, though: it's the only straightforward blues number on the entire record, and while it's excellently done and features dazzling and highly expressive guitarwork from Clempson, it's still little more than a well-done blues number. With some Really Good Guitar Playing. In the Clapton tradition. Or, maybe a bit sharper than Clapton's usual style. Let's say, "in the Jimmy Page tradition, but without the Jimmy Page gimmickry". The other six songs all represent Colosseum's "typical" art-jazz-rock brand, well-aranged and well-played but, unfortunately, spoilt by the vocals. One of the tracks is a Jack Bruce cover ('Theme For An Imaginary Western'), that, for some reason, was a real favourite of every band that was in some way associated with Jack at the time (I already mentioned the Cream-Colosseum connections, and it was also done by Mountain, one of the members of which was Cream's producer). But I must say that I actually find the Colosseum originals more inventive and less monotonous. Thus, 'Three Score And Ten, Amen' nicely vibrates from funky verses to all-out "epic" choruses pinned upon Greenslade's ominous organ pounding that brings the so much desired medieval notes into focus. Don't be put off by Heisman's drumming, either - he's using his set in a creative way, which means he's bashing all over the place, but he really knows what he's doing. Plus, the rabid wah-wah licks on the tracks can't be disqualified, either. 'Time Lament' is pretty depressing... er, could be pretty depressing. Why didn't they bring out a Peter Hammill to do the vocals on that track? It would be right up the guy's alley; a radical, blistering theatrical delivery would set the scene quite right. The title track slowly rises from humble beginnings to a magnificent climax, just like an art-rock is supposed to (but NEVER like a jazz-rock is supposed to, and yet it is jazzy in its own way). 'Take Me Back To Doomsday' never impressed me that much, but the instrumental 'Bring Out Your Dead' ROOOLES. First, it ain't got no Chris Farlowe. Second, Chris Farlowe doesn't sing on it. Third, Chris Farlowe doesn't do ANYTHING on it. And... oh yeah, it's pretty energetic too. Kinda. Sorta. Nice little instrumental, soon to be forgotten. Anyway, I'd gladly give the album a high 11, low 12, were it not for the fact that (a) I have just added another person to my - very very short - list of intolerable vocalists, and (b) the last track, called, 'The Time Machine' and recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, is an eight-minute drum solo. These guys were sure taking their Cream legacy a bit too hard. For such a short album, eight minutes of a drum solo is, er, well, you get my drift. The most curious thing is that no review of this album you'll ever find on the Web, so far, at least, won't mention that 'The Time Machine' is just a drum solo. In fact, I may be mistaken, but I think that in one review or short bio of the band, I heard 'Time Machine' being called an 'epic highlight' of the album or something like that. Score for those who insist that reviewers rarely listen to the records they review, especially if nobody's ever heard of these records. Why bother, indeed? It's one chance in a million that somebody will discover their arrogance and set them straight. AND THAT CHANCE HAS ARRIVED! But wait, did I yet tell you about the cool album cover? Look at it. Ain't that a really cool album cover? And yeah, Colosseum took their Roman name very seriously. Too bad they didn't have the brilliant idea to throw Chris Farlowe to the lions on their first live date. Just imagine the popularity!
