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| Galahad - Year Zero |
 Released: 2002 Label: Avalon Records Cat. No.: GHCD8 Total Time: 56.05 | |
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, June 2003 Where to begin? I've stretched and moved and rearranged elements of this review because I wasn’t quite sure which elements to emphasize. Year Zero sees Galahad pushing themselves again, moving further beyond their “neo-prog” beginnings and yet retaining more than a few vestiges of the progressive rock sound they‘re known for. If your impression of the band begins and ends with In A Moment Of Complete Madness, then you will find Year Zero quite a bit different from what you’d expect. This new direction began with Following Ghosts, continued with Deconstructing Ghosts, an album that featured remixes of material from Following Ghosts, and has come to fruition with Year Zero. Yes, you will hear a strong Pink Floyd influence in the music, and a bit of Yesl, too, but they also bring quite a more to it as well. On this album you get a mix of space rock, classical, metal, rock, ambient… Saying it is any one thing leaves out a whole lot of other things. I just can’t get enough of listening to this CD. Not just because I’m enjoying every moment of listening to it, but because there are so many little things going on that you have to listen to it a lot just to capture everything. Galahad are still progressive rock, but are taking what that means in new directions. Listening to the first few moments of the album ("Year Zeroverture") or the 9-plus minute "Democracy" you'd swear this was the soundtrack to some laser-light show at your local planetarium. “World Watching,“ which comes near the end of the album has a scope worthy of a film score. They do rock as well, just listen to "Baroque And Roll Dementia," for example, or the acidically metallic portion of “Democracy.” Throw in some jazz (“Jazz Suite”) and some classical (“Hindsight 1 - Piano And Clarinet,” which, for the most part, is just that), too. While “Haunted” begins as a very intimate sounding, mellow piece, where Nicholson’s vocals a very upfront, from there, the throbbing bass that comes in will recall Pink Floyd’s The Wall… and here Nicholson has a bit of southern twang in his voice that me think of, um, Garth Brooks. Now, I like Brooks, so this is not a dig, just unexpected, sort of. And yet, it’s also very much evident that it’s Nicholson. There is a nice bit of Hammond in there, too, that suggests neither. The guitar solos in "Ever The Optimist" also have a Floydian feel. More Floydian hints in “Democracy” as both “Another Brick In The Wall“ and “Time“ come to mind during the intro before Galahad mix it up with some acidic metal guitar, bloopy effects and digital percussion. It's otherworldly…and bit like Styx’s "To Much Time On My Hands.” That Yes thing appears in “A Deeper Understanding?” - and it isn’t just Nicholson’s Jon Anderson like vocals, but also in the cheerful, light Steve Howe-like guitar phrases and the lyrics, too. Even the title suggests Yes, no? “The Jazz Suite” is jazzy, as the title suggests, but also upbeat and cheerful, as sax is added to the delightful mix. This leads into the darker “Take A Deep Breath And Hold On Tight.” “Hindsight 1 - Piano And Clarinet” is a beautiful, gentle passage, that leads into “Hindsight 2 - A Very Clever Guy Indeed” a mid-tempo, reflective piece that falls more into the Adult Contemporary category -- I thought a bit of Little River Band, actually, and of Al Stewart (“Year Of The Cat”) but that doesn’t’ quite capture it all. I’ll say it again, Year Zero is a terrific release that I’m thoroughly enjoying listening to. A review can only capture a part of the whole listening experience. I heartily encourage you too seek this release out and listen for yourself. It may not be perfect, but there’s nothing on here that I’m complaining about. Rating: 5/5 [See also John's review -ed.] More about Year Zero: Track Listing: I Year Zeroverture / II Belt up / III Ever The Optimist / IV The Charlotte Suite / V Haunted / VI Democracy / VII Baroque And Roll Dementia / VIII A Deeper Understanding? / IX The Jazz Suite / X Take A Deep Breath And Hold on Tight / XIi Hindsight 1 – Piano And Clarinet / XIii Hindsight 2 - A Very Clever Guy Indeed / XII The September Suite / XIII World Watching / XIV Deceptive Vistas/Postscript – Perspective Musicians: Contact: Website: www.galahadonline.fsnet.co.uk Discography
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