Released by: Melodic Revolution Records
Release Date:Februray 22nd, 2022
Genre: Neo-Prog
Links: https://www.timehorizonmusic.com/
Line Up:
Ralph Otteson / keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, backing vocals
Bruce Gaetke / drums, baking vocals, lead vocals (4)
Allen White / electric & fretless basses
Dave Miller / electric & acoustic guitars
Michael Gregory / electric & acoustic guitars
Tracklist:
1. Living for a Better Day
2. I Hear I See
3. Prelude
4. The Razor’s Edge
5. Steve’s Song
6. Time to Wonder Why
7. The Great Divide
8. Digital Us
It took some time before the new TIME HORIZON album would see the light of day, but we are now in the year 2022, and the American band from California is making an impressive comeback with their 3rd album Power Of Three. I was fortunate enough to meet up with bandleader RALPH OTTESON (keys, piano, organ) a few years ago in Rotterdam, and he is an incredibly humble and nice person who is extremely passionate about music in general, and he is also interested in all kinds of other things, so we had a great time while he stayed in Europe to visit more friends, although his main purpose was to visit SAGA live in concert! Back then he already told me about the upcoming TIME HORIZON album, and now after the long covid period, we are proud to talk about this superb new album he just released. It also took some time to release it on both CD and VINYL, but eventually, it all worked out well, and so I am playing this beautiful album loud and proud on vinyl, and I must admit it sounds sensational from start to finish. Other involved musicians are guitarist DAVID MILLER, drummer BRUCE GAETKE, bassist ALLEN WHITE, guitarist MICHAEL GREGORY, lead singer DAVID BRADLEY MAU and a few guests. The album has amazing artwork, and like already mentioned, everything is sounding crystal clear and picture-perfect on this new TIME HORIZON, which is their finest effort so far.
Opener Living For A Better Day features the superb lead vocals of MICHAEL SADLER of SAGA, and despite some clear SAGA similarities, it is sounding a bit differently, because this first song is a pure bombastic and very melodic Pomprock piece with some AOR and Progressive Rock influences, and especially the big chorus, soaring guitar solo and majestic rich keys give it that phenomenal classic US Pomp/Symphonic Rock sound. The thing that immediately grabs you is the huge massive sound, so Ralph did everything to create a masterpiece here! Following song I Hear, I See brings us the lead vocals of the band’s actual singer DAVID BRADLEY MAU, and he has this very relaxed smooth voice that somehow has a Westcoast/AORish tone, and this song is a lovely beautiful laid-back semi-AOR/Prog piece with a focus on smooth melodies, kinda like TOTO and 90s ASIA a bit, although TIME HORIZON has a strong own direction on this fantastic new album, to give it a bit of a clear description, this should go down well with the AOR/Pomp/Neo-Prog/Sympho fans out there. The Razor’s Edge is up next, and after an instrumental keyboard introduction (Prelude) in the classic STYX style of the late 1970s, this song develops into a lovely massive sounding midtempo Pomprock piece that truly makes you long back to the days when STYX, KANSAS, and ASIA were ruling the US charts!
Side-B of the vinyl record starts with the bass-orientated instrumental Steve’s Song, which is dedicated to their original bassist STEVE GOURLEY, who left the band and also his home in America to start a new life in Cambodia where he helped the poor and oppressed. Time To Wonder Why is a calmer symphonic PINK FLOYDish epic ballad, while The Great Divide is the most progressive rock-orientated song on the album I think. It has YES influences, but then with a modern take, kinda like THE FLOWER KINGS and SPOCK’S BEARD. Closing the album is Digital Us, which is another pure progressive rock piece, so side-B seems to be a bit different than the Pomprock of Side-A, which on the other hand makes it a very diverse and challenging album to listen to a lot of times. Without a doubt, we have something special here, and perhaps one of the best prog/sympho/pomp albums of 2022! TIME HORIZON sounds better than ever, so my huge compliments go out to Ralph!
Written by: Gabor Kleinbloesem
Ratings: Gabor 8/10
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