HAMMER TIME

GLASS HAMMER-"PERILOUS"

Over the last few years, Glass Hammer has been steadily earning the title of the US's premier progressive rock band.

After liking the last CD (Cor Cordium) so much, and having seen Jon Davison fronting Yes over the summer, I decided I was enough of a Glass Hammer fan to order an autographed copy of the new CD, Perilous, direct from the band's website.

 
This is the third CD with the current lineup, and the level of musicianship and production value sets a new standard for the band, who have worked together for longer than any other incarnation of the band and their sound is starting to show the benefits.

The album continues in the stylistic vein of their last few records, and shows the band upping the ante just a little.

While my first inclination might be to draw comparisons to Yes-there are similarities due to the common lead singer and the overall style of the music-let me make it clear that this sounds like a Glass Hammer record.

This is a brilliant piece of music, multi layered, full of different textures and nuances. The emotions and ideas in the lyrics ebb and flow with the music, and Davison's voice fits quite well, soaring and hitting all the right notes, evoking memories of classic seventiess prog.

This is a solid concept album-one musical idea in thirteen movements with a definite story to tell with a beginning, middle and climactic end.

The band set out to make something epic, without being afraid to allude to their influences while developing a sound that is undeniably their own.

They pulled it off!