Consortium Project, Ian Parry's - Ian Parry's Consortium Project


Year of Release: 1999
Label: InsideOut Music
Catalog Number: IOMCD 044
Format: CD
Total Time: 47:52:00

As much as liked Elegy's Manifestation Of Fear, I like Ian Parry's Consortium Project much better. It is more in line with traditional metal and overall doesn't sound much different from much of the metal being released in the 80s. Oh, I don't mean Warrant and the like, I mean Iron Maiden mainly and the harder metal bands. Of course there's a drive here that came about later ... think Dream Theater for the most obvious example. But not quite the same kind of chug as DT ... it's closer to AOR in some respects.

Ian Parry is not just vocals here as he plays the keys and synths, too. He is joined by Jan Vayne on piano, Stephan Lil, Thom Youngblood, Patrick Rondat, and Tam?s Szekeres on guitars, Barend Courbois, Martin Helmantel, and Arjen Lucassen on bass, and Dirk Bruinenberg on drums. Tommy Newton also provides bass on three tracks.

Parry's vocal melodies make these tracks quite memorable, one of my favourites is "Change Breeds Contempt," which features Bruinenberg, Lucassen, and Youngblood. Though "A Miracle Is All I Need" comes close, especially with the beautiful piano backing of Vayne. And, I quite like "The Snake." (Lil, Lucassen, Bruinenberg). But then there's "Chain Of Fear" that I also quite like ... and "Pandora's Box." Hmm...that's nearly half the album. Not just Parry's vocals, mind you, but everything - from guitar to drums to bass...this is nearly a perfect album. Parry's vocals have a certain roughness to them that I think fits the music perfectly (though I know Bobo disagrees with me on this); he carries these melodies well, doesn't strain for notes in either direction - I'll have to put him up there with my favourite vocalists.

This is quite a stellar album that is enjoyable to listen to - the performances here are terrific and tight. It's Rondat who gets the solo instrumental spot on "The Entity" a combination of acoustic and electric guitars in a shimmering cascade of notes. But doesn't mean the guests otherwise fade into the background as each get their moments. Despite this having been recorded in various studios in Holland, Hungary, Germany, and the US it holds together quite well, which has to be a credit to both Parry who produced the release and Tommy Newton who mixed it.

Released in North America by the now defunct InsideOut Music America (IOMA 2006-2)


Tracklisting:
House Of Cards (4:17) / Banquet Of Thieves (5:35) / Evilworld (3:44) / Garden Of Eden (4:20) / The Entity (Instrumental) (2:43) / Change Breeds Contempt (4:16) / A Miracle Is All We Need (4:48) / The Snake (3:21) / Criminals & Kings (4:12) / Chain Of Fear (5:23) / Pandora's Box (3:56)

Musicians:
Ian Parry - vocals
Patrick Rondat - guitars
Thom Youngblood - guitar
Stephan Lill - guitars
Tamas Szekeres - guitars
Dirk Bruinenberg - drums
Martin Helmantel - bass
Arjen Lucassen - guitars
Tommy Newton - bass
Barend Curbois - six string bass
Jan Vayne - piano

Discography:
Ian Parry's Consortium Project (1999)
Consortium Project II - Continuum In Extremeis (2001)
Consortium Project III - Terra Incognita (The Undiscovered World) (2003)
Consortium Project IV - Children Of Tomorrow (2007)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin VA

Added: November 1st 2000
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow
Score:
Artist website: www.ianparry.com
Hits: 3183
Language: english

  

[ Back to Reviews Index | Post Comment ]