This is nothing like what we expected.
Kristofer Gildenlow is the ex-bassist for Pain Of Salvation - but when he and
brother Daniel parted ways between that band's Be and Scarsick
albums, there was a lot of pain within the band - and there was a definite
change in the music. In
our
review of Scarsick we alluded to the fact that Kristofer took a notable
portion of the fanbase with him, as well as an important element of the band's
signature sound.
So when he, Liselotte Hegt and Rommert van der Meer formed Dial, you'd expect
the music to be at least partly in the vein of PoS's charismatic prog-metal ... and it
isn't. This is prog meets broadway - softly symphonic, reasonably progressive,
mysteriously dark, with great, imaginative female vocals that range from Kate
Bush to soaring melodies that could have been part of an old fashioned rock
opera.
In fact - that's one of the overriding feelings you're left with ... wrap
these songs around a story, and you'd have a convincing concept piece - complete
with wonderful song-to-song variety, approachable anthemic choruses, delicate
instrumentation accompanying soft, emotive male vocals - it's all there. "Jewel"
has a Tori Amos like vocal line over an elegant piano motif, "Candyland" starts
off sounding like Kate Bush then swells into a huge chorus that would be at home
on London's West End. "Hello" could have been a Paatos piece - elegant and
quirky, with male and female vocals in a duet. And Childhood Dreams is one of
the standouts, with soft male vocals - half whispered, half sung with perfect
control and a melody line that recalls parts of Deep Purple's classic "Child In
Time".
Prog Rock Records has a winner
with Syncronized. It doesn't contain the brilliant progressive
complexities of Kristofer's previous band, and it definitely occupies the lighter side of
the progressive music spectrum - but it's wonderfully melodic and it will
certainly be in rotation in many CD players for a long time.
Recommended.
Track Listing:
Beautiful
Sadness
Jewel
Candyland
Green Knees
Hello
Points of View
Wish It Away
Wounded
Nature's Cruelty (Mo's Song)
Childhood Dreams
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
