Jack Yello - Thorns Of Anger


Year of Release: 2003
Label: Rogue
Catalog Number: Rogue 01
Format: CD
Total Time: 78:01:00

Did Fish rejoin Marillion? Did Marillion go back to their original sound? No, this is the stunning debut album of Jack Yello, a band that until 1995 played mainstream music under the name Jagiello, but changed their course (in 1995 of course) to progressive rock. With a wide variety of musical influences, from Extreme to Deep Purple to Miles Davis, they created their own style, which brings back to mind the early 90s neo-prog bands such as Summer Indoors, PTS, Twelfth Night and Arena, and the Fish-era Marillion.

Thorns Of Anger is a very dynamic album with passionate songs, guitar solos that give you goosebumps, fantastic keyboard arrangements, surprising bass guitar and powerful drums, completed with very passionate vocals, that at times make you check the booklet if it really isn't Fish you are hearing! Vocalist Dirk Bovensiepen (ex-Darius) is one of the few vocalists I have became to love for his talent, as at times he sounds just like Fish, but then he sounds completely different and this makes it great to listen to him.

Musically Thorns Of Anger to me holds everything I want in a prog album: epic songs, with classical influences, lots of keyboards and guitar solos and many instrumental parts in the long songs, not forgetting the dark, mythical lyrics and convincing vocals (with the passion dripping off of the CD J). Jack Yello has it all and just about in every song, so what else do you want to know? Oh, minor points to the album?? Well, some parts are a bit cheesy ("Before" ...), but that is well made up by the songs that at times are close to prog metal, like "The Old Warrior (Part V)" and "The Bridge," which have a heavy guitar riffs. "Before" has a very funky bass in it, with a bit of a Jadis sound in it.

I could at length discuss all tracks, as there is so much to hear in every song, that this review would be way too long. You really have to get this album and listen to it, over and over again as this is one of the best prog albums I came across this year and I think it is a very impressive debut. Despite the resemblance in voice, Jack Yello is not a Marillion clone or "sound-a-like," far from it. They have written and composed very original songs, in which they have put in all their skills as musicians as well as their musical influences. The result is a very catchy, captivating album that I find hard to put away.

Conclusion? If you don't buy this album, you will miss out one of the better new bands in the Progressive Rock genre, a band we will certainly here more of in the future, as they keep progressing in the way they have moved with this excellent album. Jack Yello: congratulations with this stunning debut album!

Similar Bands: Marillion (Fish ? era), Arena

Also released is the US by ProgRock Records.

[This review originally appeared October 2003 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]


Tracklisting:
Inspiring Confidence [Part 1] (9:56) / Shadows Of A Nightingale [Part II] (7:15) / Game Show (6:28) / The Unknown Soldier (7:42) / The Old Warrior [Part V] (4:37) / The Bridge (8:59) / Before (5:59) / Igraine [Part IV] (6:43) / Take My Heart (9:27) / Emotional Suicide [Take My Heart Part II] (9:21) / Faces To Faces [Outro] (1:34)

Musicians:
Dirk Bovensiepen - vocals
Lutz Grosser - guitars
Uwe Ziegler - keyboards
Dirk H?lpert - bass
Uwe Poprawa - drums

Discography:
Thorns Of Anger (2003)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin DE

Added: January 1st 2005
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: www.jackyello.com
Hits: 3420
Language: english

  

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