For Those About to Prog-Rock…
TRANSATANTIC soars through The Whirlwind
TRANSATLANTIC
The Whirlwind
Metal Blade
October 27, 2009
**** 4/5
How fitting that TRANSANTIC’s first album in almost 10 years wouldn’t just coincide with PORCUPINE TREE’s latest, but that they’d both be made of album-length song cycles – AKA: be 1 song. Each so different from one another, one grounded and the other grandiose, you couldn’t have asked for a better Venn diagram here, two opposite takes on the same idea, two testaments to two very different eras of prog-rock, of sensibility, and proof that this town of Prog is, in fact, big enough for the both of them.
Where each album differs so greatly is their language. While The Whirlwind goes traditional, keeping close to the belief that “progressive” means huge–big sound, big transitions, big conclusion–The Incident reverses it, so mild-mannered, often dancing close to the simplicity of pop. PORCUPINE TREE in effect turn the “progressive epic” idea on its head, never playing loud or fast for your attention, even ending their 55min run on a conscious anti-climax, not some grand reconstruction of familiar riffs.
And the crazy thing? Each method works, beautifully and in its own way.
Where The Incident seems defiant, The Whirlwind plays like a modern take on retro stylings. It’s got this great feel-good, head bobbing, sing-along quality about it, a funkiness through its driving bass and a more prominent, CHICAGO-esque vocal split between Stolte and Morse. But then it’ll go dark and haunting, a TRANSATLANTIC oddity, in something like “A Man Can Feel.” From there, transitioning straight into an “Out of the Night,” a song with a brightness of spirit only matched by an episode of The Cosby Show.
Like most any “Prog Epic,” The Whirlwind has the signature recurring melody thing going on, but it doesn’t rely on it for coherence–each song is at the same time wholly separate but not disconnected or feeling patched together. The album’s got a great fluidity to it, for 11 of its 12 movements, anyway. Then the last song happens.
“Dancing with Eternal Glory” is contrived and unnecessary, a prime example of the self-indulgency many complain about in prog. Which is really a shame since the track before it, “Is It Really Happenning?”, is so amazing, playing like a kind of ending before the ending. And it makes you wonder if this is where The Whirlwind maybe should have taken a page from PT’s book, ditched Step 12 in their “Making a Prog Epic” formula, the “conclusion” with its riff reprises and thematic wrap-up (just in case you haven’t gotten it yet), and just ended there, made a 65min piece instead of a 77min one. There’s no shame in that. Even for TRANSATLANTIC.
Then disc 2 is patchy and in places plain bad. It’s split between 4 original tracks–2 of which are Stolte’s and a lot of fun, one’s Neal’s and God awful (pun SO intended), and the last a boring Trewavas track–and 4 covers. And maybe it’s the closet pop-lover in me, but I kind of love the addition of America’s “I Need You” here. To me it’s the only truly worthwhile cover out of the bunch.
But disc 2 is just a bonus, a little extra to remind you just how much Roine Stolte has to offer, to prove once and for all in “Salty Dog” that Mike Portnoy actually does have some fairly decent pipes–but should probably stick to harmonies–and finally how incredibly, obscenely, enough-is-enoughly Neal’s Jesus ballads have gotten old. I love so much of Morse’s work; I’ve defended his religious (read: sometimes preachy) lyrics a hundred times. But seriously. “For Such a Time” is terrible, the same as Sola’s “Heaven in My Heart” is terrible or Lifeline’s “God’s Love.” We get it: life could mean so much more, there’s hope, okay. Now how about a metaphor?
But enough negative. Bonuses are allowed to be patchy. And besides it and the final 11 minutes of disc 1, I really love this album. I awaited it and wasn’t just not let down but physically excited after my second listen, the way the band was able to surprise me while still managing to be exactly what I imagine when I think of them.
On ProgArchives they say that giving an album 5 stars means that it’s “essential.” So no, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that about The Whirlwind. But all the guys are at the top of their game here; Stolte’s guitar work is humbling (see his solo in “The Wind Blew Them All Away”), Neal’s vocals are some of the best of his career (see “Lay Down Your Life”), Portnoy’s intense as ever and Trewavas drives the piece through his bass grooves. It definitely has its soft spots, but as a love letter to throwback prog and a testament to the power of evolution, The Whirlwind is near perfect.
This entry was posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 1:36 pm and is filed under cd reviews, music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
