RELEASED BY : FIREFLY MUSIC OUT NOW!!
Style: Crossover Prog
Links: http://www.myspace.com/panicroomuk
Tracklist:
1 .Freedom To Breathe
2 .Picking Up Knives
3 .I Am A Cat
4 .The Fall
5 .Black Noise
6 .Yasuni
7 .Sunshine
8 .Into The Fire
9 .Dark Star
10 .Muse
11 .Satellite
Modern crossover-prog five piece PANIC ROOM are back with an all new album following hot on the heels of some massive praise from the previous album 2008’s VISIONARY POSITION. The new album is called SATELLITE and I must say it’s another fine addition to the works of a bans with a long future ahead of them.
Hardcore prog-rock fans will probably immediately dismiss the album, as the actual progressive elements are a little on the thin side, but fans of bands like IT BITES, MARILLION and KINO will find much to like about this release. The songwriting in particular is something that the band do really well, and songs that feature perfectly catchy sing-along AOR style choruses, mixed with some articulate verses are quite commonplace on SATELLITE and a true highlight all the way through.
Musically there is nothing to fault here at all, everything is great. Guitarist PAUL DAVIES clearly takes to playing guitar as an art form, and the album features some of the most haunting and interesting solo work I’ve heard in a long time. The rhythm section of drummer GAVIN JOHN GRIFFITHS, jazz inspired master bassist ALUN VAUGHAN and keyboardist JONATHAN EDWARDS have a great chemistry and most importantly, they know when to step it up, and when to sit back and let the vocals and lead guitar shine through. Speaking of vocals, woah, ANNE-MARIE HELDER must be one of the finest female prog-rockers in history. Not that I can think of many other female prog-rockers off the top of my head, which makes the uniqueness of the album very evident. Kudos must also go to a top-notch production that could easily compete with the majors.
The band was nice enough to send me a copy of the double-disc version of the album which is only available direct from their website, and I must say that if you’re interested in purchasing, the double-disc version is certainly the way to go. There is only four extra tracks on the second disc, but each one of these is just as good as anything on the first disc, which is a nice change from the trend of bonus discs usually consisting of rough demos and live tracks.
If you like the more structured and poppy side of progressive rock, SATELLITE ticks all the boxes and will be a pleasant surprise to your ears if you are yet to discover PANIC ROOM
Written by Zeezee
Ratings Zeezee 8/10
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