When I first received this CD for review, for some reason the music, with its heavily borrowed
Yngwie Malmsteen neo-classical asthetics - be it from mood swings or the climate changes that was turning New England from a cool paradise to a hot sweltering desert and back again - just wasn't doing it for me. It was "hmm been here done that before" and tossed into the pile of other discs that were awaiting my attention. Later, after digging it back out and giving it a second chance, something had altered my perspective and the music on the disc just popped right out at me.
It's a celebrative combination of some of my past favorites, mainly
Yngwie Malmsteen at his late 80s/early 90s melodic best. In fact Mr. Malmsteen's influence can be seen everywhere, from the choices in choruses to the guitar tones and the way the structures are often tailored around the six string electric beast itself. There's also a generous helping of Euro hard rockers, Brazen Abbot, and the subtle bluesy metallic touch of a certain
Ritchie Blackmore before he ran off and joined the Renaissance faire. Work in a bit of that
Talisman melodic swiftness and you can gather a patchwork picture of what Edge of Forever' "Feeding the Fire" sounds like once put into action. Other bands have used similar ingredients to make up their musical mish-mash but it's been awhile that some outfit strides up and actually keeps me interested with the overused Malmsteen basics.
Edge of Forever keeps you on your seat till the end, thanks to the guiding hand of producer Marcel Jacob with his background in
Talisman. Axe murder, oops okay Axe singer Bob Harris lends a nice unique feel to the vocal area. Too many me-toos use guys with tremendous high range and nothing below it, leaving them to squeak through all the songs in a grating screechy monotone, but Harris has a lovely voice with a wealth of nuances that are allowed to shine through. His experience picked up in Axe has lent him a beautiful bluesy tone that is a delight to hear beaming within, lighting up the faster paced songs with a earthy quality that keeps the music bound to melodic constraints without veering into annoyance. But Harris doesn't go it alone,
Jeff Scott Soto is his back-up man and also guest vocal duelist on
"Prisoner", harking back to those Yngwie comparisons brought up a paragraph before. Matteo Carnio is in charge of the guitars, and does a fine job, borrowing from the already over mentioned "Maestro" and legend
Ritchie Blackmore.
Axel Rudi Pell has made a living off of blending those two sounds together, yet Carnio manages to be completely different while offering up some of the same, in a fresh, sparky manner.
The first two tracks, the heavier
"Edge of Forever" and the smoother
"Birth of the Sun", display Edge of Forever's nifty mix perfectly, with solid hooks, crisp vocals with velvet undertones and firey choruses that opt for the richly mined melodic route. Being a sucker for anything incorporating more than one vocalist,
"Prisoner" is by far the highlight of the disc. This is the kind of music that Mr. Malmsteen
should be doing in the 2000s. Bob and Jeff swap back and forth, and good Lord has Soto ever held onto those pipes. Years ago I feared he had blown them out with too many projects, but he's so sharp here that its unbelievable. Their voices are distinct and easy to pick apart one from the other, and with such a great song structure to guide them, and a powerful chorus, this one is an absolute edge of your seat, smoking gun of a track from start to finish.
"Whatever Comes" is a little slack in quality when compared to the two its sandwiched inbetween but is still a great track, just a little overshadowed by the others. The guitars are thick and the rest is surprisingly melodic.
"Mother of Darkness" is a magnificent epic in 70s
Rainbow fashion that leads off with a trippy, spacey feel before kicking into full-blown metal mode.
"Bloodsucker" is a pure vocal shouting, double bass kicking, shredding extravaganza a'la Malmsteen with the blazing organ grinding of
Deep Purple and
Jeff Scott Soto can be heard clearly in the background, no blending here, which seems essential for this song. Separating the voices and letting the lead shine on its own merits with the crooning Soto in the back just sets the vibe for what would otherwise be "just another" guitar fest.
The only speed bump in the otherwise wide-open metallic road, is the expansive power-ballad of proportions that can only be described as epic,
"The Road We Walked On". Harris is allowed to breathe and stretch the vocal chords to the max here, while the lurking heavy-handed guitar humming in the backdrop is a gentle reminder that while this is a very AOR-esque song, its not giving into it
all the way.
"Dance Into the Fire" wows with an awesome guitar opening that hits all the right notes in a subdued manner, careful, lurking but with a bright tone, and gives way to a mid tempo rocker with a catchy as hell chorus. This one catches speed and grows with multiple listens. Knocking off the socks again you just have to scream to the sky "This isn't Yngwie???" when questioning
"Gates of Hell". This is a perfect carbon copy of the "Michael Vescera era", with soulful regret, a simmering intense portrayal of betrayal and anger, and a foreboding sense of doom presiding over the festivities. Then the chorus just hits you right between the eyes, a dizzying feast that just refuses to let go, guitars, bass and drums dragging on the ground behind.
"I Won't Be A Fool No More" closes the disc on a classic feel, high octane neo-classically strung music with a power chorus that utilizes the talents of both vocalists equally, Soto providing the song title hook line, "I won't be a fool no more" and Harris the "no no no for your love".
To prove the infectiousness of this disc, this was originally going to be a shorter review, but once "Feeding the Fire" took over the CD player and things started rolling, I didn't want to put it away. There are enough variations on the themes to leave each song with an air of something different while retaining integrity to the musical pathway chosen - but each with their own twist. The running time is spot-on, and like the songs, the disc doesn't drag on beyond its initial welcome. And are there any fillers? Closest thing to it is
"Whatever Comes" but it would be sad to see it cut out with its darkness and light starkness. I hate to seem so overly fawning of discs, but this year has really been a stellar one as far as everything that has crossed my path, and this is yet another in a long line of CDs that really deserve the chance to be given a listen. A stellar debut by some exceptional musicians with high-class pedigrees, and one of the best takes on the whole Euro hard rock/neo-classical fusions that I've heard in.years.
Written by
Alanna Thursday, June 17, 2004
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