If there’s one thing that can be said for Frontiers Records, it’s that they make the most of their creative properties. Take Sunstorm for example. What was once believed to be Joe Lynn Turner’s homage to the glory days of AOR has since turned into a vehicle featuring not one member from the project’s inception. Nevertheless, under the steady guidance of Frontiers, the sound and spirit of the band has remained the same, with or without Turner. Although no case is nearly as dramatic as this, the same can be said for others Frontiers curated properties, such as Ring of Fire.
Initially conceived as an outlet for former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Mark Boals to explore the realm of progressive metal, Ring of Fire has had no shortage of superstar musicians in its ranks through the years. Among these names are *inhales* veteran shredders George Bellas and Tony MacAlpine, Steve Vai bassist Philip Bynoe, former Stratovarius frontman Timo Tolkki, and drummer extraordinaire Virgil Donati, just to name a few. While these names have since come and gone, Boals and Trans-Siberian Orchestra keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij remain for their latest effort (and first in 8 years), Gravity. Joining them are Frontiers veterans Stefano Scola on bass, Alfonso Mocerino on drums, and Aldo Lonobile on guitars.
While the players on Gravity are different from past releases, the music is not. The band opens with an all out progressive metal clinic in the nearly 8 minute “The Beginning”, an aptly titled song to kick things off. Filled with meandering twists and turns and instrumental heroics characteristic of Symphony X and the ilk, those who don’t like their metal on the progressive side have been forewarned. Cuts like the elegant “Storm of the Pawns” and mystifying “Sideways” further explore this approach. While I don’t go out of my way to listen to this brand of prog metal, these songs are executed in a manner that doesn’t overwhelm the listener or, worse yet, bore them to tears. The Klaus Meine-esque vocal delivery of Mark Boals certainly keeps us hanging on too (insert Vanilla Fudge joke here).
Conscious of this being a Frontiers audience, Ring of Fire are sure to incorporate some variety throughout this release as well. The high speed, high octane prog-power fury of “Run for Your Life” and “Melanchonia” take us back to Boals’s Malmsteen era, neoclassical interludes and all. Dare I say Boals and company do a better job capturing the classic Malmsteen sound these days than Malmsteen himself? Yes. Yes I do. There’s also a pair of power ballads in “Sky Blue” and “Another Night”, each serving as musical breaks between the instrumental wizardry, while “King of Fools” and “21st Century Fate Unknown” throw in classic AOR hooks and melodies like it’s nobody’s business.
My only complaint with Gravity is that the overall production and mix tends to be a bit inconsistent. At times the songs are muddled and compressed. Other times they come off as thin, especially during the keyboard-centric passes. That said, I wouldn’t go so far to say a middle of the road production job takes away from the quality of the songs and musicianship, at least not in this case. There’s also the possibility that it would sound better sonically speaking on a physical format as opposed to digitally. I guess I’ll have to pick up a CD copy and find out for myself.
6 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Progressive Metal
For fans of: Symphony X, Yngwie Malmsteen, Savatage