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░ ██ ██ Artist: Southern Empire ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Southern Empire █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2016 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2016-07-03 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Giant Electric Pea ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Southern Empire is Australia's newest, most █
█ exciting progressive rock band: █
█ Sean Timms - keyboards/vocals/saxaphone █
█ Danny Lopresto - lead vocals/guitar █
█ Cam Blokland - guitar/vocals █
█ Brody Green - drums/vocals █
█ Jez Martin - bass/vocals █
█ █
█ Sean Timms: After a 17 year stint as main █
█ song-writer, producer and keyboard player with █
█ Unitopia Sean was looking to bring the finest █
█ musicians together in one band. He feels heÆs █
█ achieved that with Southern Empire. █
█ Danny Lopresto: A seasoned performer with a huge █
█ vocal range, mad guitar skills and many years of █
█ live and studio experience, DannyÆs work with █
█ nationally renowned band Clearway and the highly █
█ successful sold out Queen/Zeppelin Show sees him █
█ regularly playing to packed houses. █
█ Cam Blokland: Lauded nationally as one of █
█ AustraliaÆs premiere guitarists, Cam was the face █
█ of the 2014 Adelaide International Guitar █
█ Festival, sharing the stage with some of the █
█ worldÆs finest guitarists including Guthrie Govan. █
█ Brody Green: One of a rare breed of drummers, █
█ Brody is not only great at hitting things with █
█ sticks, but also a stunning vocalist with a █
█ supersonic range, guitarist, keyboardist and █
█ song-writer. █
█ Jez Martin: A highly in-demand bass player, Jez █
█ can be seen and heard with the Bill Parton Trio, █
█ Lather (The Frank Zappa Tribute Band), The Dream █
█ Theater Tribute Show and many musical theatre █
█ performances. █
█ █
█ Hailing from the Green Continent, SOUTHERN EMPIRE █
█ presents its self-titled debut album. The band was █
█ formed by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter █
█ Sean Timms, formerly of the Australian neo-prog █
█ outfit Unitopia. The album was released by the █
█ renowned UK label Giant Electric Pea (owned by IQ) █
█ a few weeks ago. █
█ In the CD press kit the music of Southern Empire █
█ is compared to Dream Theater, IQ and Steven █
█ Wilson, none of which are suitable as reference █
█ points actually, save, maybe, IQ circa 1987-Æ89 █
█ (on some occasions). The album begins with the █
█ 50-second Show Me the Way, a brief acoustic piece █
█ with a mellow vocal melody. In its turn, the █
█ concluding track Dreams & Machines appears as an █
█ expanded or, rather, overextended, vocal-heavy █
█ version of the intro with a glaring balladic feel █
█ all over its five minutes of length, most of it █
█ performed without the rhythm section either. █
█ Second track, Forest Fire (7:32), is one of the █
█ best compositions on the album, revealing a █
█ perfect balance of vocal and instrumental █
█ sections. Combining Sympho-Prog of the Neo variety █
█ and û still Neo û Prog Metal with elements of █
█ classic Symphonic Art Rock, it sounds much in the █
█ vein of ôGeneration 13ö, the very best album in █
█ SagaÆs discography. At least in places, the traces █
█ of the Canadian comboÆs legacy are present on each █
█ of the remaining four tracks too. ThatÆs not to █
█ say the Southern Empire is really influenced by █
█ Saga, not at all. Nevertheless, in terms of style █
█ and structure (and also in mood, which is never █
█ truly dramatic, let alone dark), there is █
█ certainly something that unites the groups. █
█ However, the next two tracks, Hold and How Long, █
█ find their creators investigating almost █
█ completely different stylistic landscapes, namely █
█ Jazz-Fusion and World Music, the latter of an █
█ Arabic origin in both cases. And if the former █
█ piece reveals a couple of heavy-sounding episodes, █
█ as well as some purely acoustic arrangements, the █
█ latter lies entirely within the realm of World █
█ Fusion (the genre invented by the US group Ancient █
█ Future). Within the instrumental sections of the █
█ pieces the music sounds both interesting and █
█ refreshing, standing out for some remarkably █
█ improvised guitar, piano, flute and saxophone █
█ leads, and also for some energetic █
█ percussion-driven moves. But the vocal ones leave █
█ pretty much to be desired in terms of diversity, █
█ particularly those on How Long, almost all over █
█ the second half of which all five of the musicians █
█ drawlingly, as if reading some mantra, repeat the █
█ same question û the one that is the songÆs very █
█ title. For my taste, there are generally too many █
█ questions in the albumÆs lyrics. But if in most of █
█ the other cases those seem to be justified, █
█ mirroring an inner quasi-philosophical monolog of █
█ a person-at-the-crossroads, the ones on track 4 █
█ are too primitive for a progressive music creation █
█ and are just annoying. The remaining composition, █
█ The Bridge That Binds (28:22), is musically closer █
█ to the second track, Forest Fire, but not █
█ throughout, as the band from time to time enters █
█ the domain of Jazz-Fusion; plus there are some █
█ sympho-prog interludes and a number of mellow, █
█ ballad-like episodes too. This is definitely the █
█ highlight of the album, even though it doesnÆt █
█ have a genuinely epic magnitude, appearing as a █
█ set of several, stylistically different, segments █
█ rather than as a real, always logically █
█ developing, suite. Nonetheless, the structures are █
█ often multi-layered, and the instrumental █
█ arrangements contain enough unexpected turns to █
█ satisfy even a profound listener. The accompanying █
█ DVD depicts the band æplayingÆ in the studio the █
█ very same tracks that are featured on the CD (sans █
█ the intro and the outro, an excerpt from which is █
█ used as a signature tune for the menu section), █
█ doing so in the very same manner, down to the █
█ smallest details. Not a big deal to imitate the █
█ performance of the album using its phonogram, but █
█ the band does it in a fairly spectacular way. █
█ Personally IÆd prefer the DVD version of the █
█ release. The bridge thatÆs shown in the beginning █
█ of The Bridge That Binds is a gorgeous █
█ constructionà █
█ On its vocal level the music never complies with █
█ classic progressive rock demands and, devoid of a █
█ storytelling feel, much more often suggests █
█ AOR-meets-Neo than Neo Progressive of the first █
█ water. Thankfully, the vocals themselves, the lead █
█ and harmony ones alike, are strong and are totally █
█ original in delivery. Besides, as more than once █
█ hinted above, instrumentally the album is █
█ excellent almost throughout, the diversity of the █
█ styles explored being as impressive as the █
█ musicianship of each of the band members. Overall, █
█ this is a promising debut effort. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Show Me the Way 0:48 ░
░ 2. Forest Fire 7:32 ░
░ 3. Hold 11:42 ░
░ 4. How Long 11:27 ░
░ 5. The Bridge That Binds 28:21 ░
░ 6. Dreams & Machines 5:09 ░
░ 64:59 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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