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Feb
23
2010
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IZZ ‘My River Flows” 2005 |
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Written by Soen S. Mojo
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Tuesday, 23 February 2010 |
It’s great when a band ran to hold out for achieve success and continues to produce album that is challenging and even arresting. Such is the case with IZZ, a five piece band that hail from Manhattan. They started off on a presence with released splashy album ‘Silver Sun’ in 1999, wherein one of the tracks (Endless Calling) received an award in the Billboard song contest. Followed with the release of ‘I Move’ (2002) and ‘Ampersand” (2004) the band has walked over thriving periods from the sensationalism to be professionalism. Such advance culminated in the release of the fourth album ‘My River Flows’. On this, the band appear resplendent in expertise to amalgamated the pomp of Rush with the grandeur of Yes. If only our ears caught a bit of alternative metal riffs in the opening, I assumed it’s just a mere fad that’s intentionally created in accord with the contemporary music trend. And when we catch a retrenchment of prog content in ‘Rose Colored Lenses’ (track-3), ‘Cross Fire’ ( track-5) and ‘Anything I Can Dream (track-6), there they seemed precisely competent in effort to revived the realm of Beatlesque style that most the pioneer done in the early 70s such as Chris Squire, Alex Lifeson, Rick Wakeman with their each methods. On the rest, the music fluttered in description as I mentioned above. “Late Night Salvation” on (track-2) opened with tempestuous glissando on guitar and atmospheric sound of keyboard that’s deceptively created to matching Petrucci and Kevin Moore in their abilities. After interrupted by irregular and descending broken leap on the guitar, the swirling accompaniment of piano took around to led melancholic song. All appearances of this segment throw us back to the rhythm of ‘Where Will You Be’ from Yes’s Talk album. Thereafter guitar took up interlude with the typical Lifeson-like florid in ‘Permanent Wave’ and followed with attractive beats of the duo drummer that’s instantly reminiscent of the duet Collins and Thompson in Genesis ‘Second Out’. Then, the vocal reentered in the shade of Ozzy Osborn-like high-altitude voice and finished with vehement moog-synth lines ala Rick Wakeman. When the thrumming on nylon-string acoustic guitar and the touches on synth bit by bit opened ‘Deception’ on (track-4), I immediately caught the nuances of Yes’s works in ‘Keys to Ascension’, and every passages of the composition heard to brightening the twilight of Yes music. On the other side, both the simplicity and the elegance of Trevor Rabin’s style to led ‘Final Eyes’ in Big Generator might possible to be an inspiration by the band to created Abby’s Song on (track-7). For ‘Deafening Silence’ on (track-8), I have no more words to reveal my admiration. Within duration 21’36’’, the track that is consist of 6 parts loaded lots of dynamic, modulation, ostentation etc. On ‘Realization’ (part-1) we can imagine the manner of Keith Emerson if only he replays piano section in interlude of Yes ‘Heart of Sunrise’ that’s followed by touching accompaniment from Tomas Bodin and Roine Stolt, then flows through odd tempo and slides in Flower King-flavored breaking’s style to rest awhile. Continued by press-sounded keyboard on ‘Lesson from The Heart’ (part-2) that in 7/8 tempo lead Irish-folky female singers, music keep on flowing to define ‘Deafening Silence’ (part-3), to charge ‘Passage of Life (part-4), to build ‘Sanctuary’ (part-5), to create ‘Illumination’ (part-6) with lots of changes, motifs and ornate tones to form classy prog symphony. I am convince that the admirers of Yes, Rush, Flower King don’t suppose this closing track is presented by Tom Galgano (keyboardist/vocalist), John Galgano (bassist/vocalist), Paul Bremner (guitarist), Greg DiMiceli and Brian Coralian (drummer) plus two additional female vocalists Anmarie Byrnes and Laura Mende. Anyhow, the rest of the album is great and highly recommended. I deem it a masterwork among the others.
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