Progressive Rock Reviews
Progressive Rock Reviews
CAIRO |
| Cairo's
second musical journey is entitled "Conflict & Dreams". And a
musical journey it is… Like their first CD, this one is full of exciting, aggressive, keyboard dominated (albeit with many blistering guitar leads throughout) progressive rock. The lineup is the same, with the exception of bass player Rob Fordyce who was replaced by Jamie Brown. If you liked the debut, you will surely like its successor. The style set forth on the first CD continues here. The lush production, the cinematic sound, the soaring melodious vocals, and the aggressive intensity are all back. However this CD has an additional musical maturity, and a lot more consistency throughout the album than the first one. The songs are again quite lengthy, including a couple very long "epics". There is also a lot more consistency in mood, which is sometimes a bit darker than the first. The opening track, 'Angels In Rage' sets the tone for the CD with its somewhat dark undertones. This song is also accompanied by some angry, frustrated lyrics…probably more so than the rest of the CD, which also offers some hope and positive direction despite the dark sound. The next song, 'Corridors' is also a lengthy composition, with many musical ideas packed into one song; a Cairo trade mark. Musically, this song is somewhat similar to the opening track, aggressive, though not as angry sounding. It is also goes through a lot more progressions as the song drives along, ending with an atmospheric, lush synth melody while Jeff Brockman's powerful drums accent the segment. 'Western Desert' is the albums longest piece. The song also doesn't have many lyrics for its length, making for a very complex composition. Lyrically, the song deals with the city and surrounding areas of Cairo and the changes the area has gone through over the years. One of the CD's highlights, this song is exiting and intense from the starting gun and never lets up. A far superior "epic" type song compared to 'Ruins at Avalon's Gate', the 20+min. epic from the debut CD, this song is much more consistent in sound and style and really sounds like it's going somewhere all the while. The pace slows down considerably on 'Image', Mark Robertson's beautiful piano composition accompanied by Alec Fuhrman's acoustic guitar…one of the few soft Cairo moments that shows they are capable of tenderness as well as heaviness. 'Then You Were Gone' is another album highlight, with a pounding relentless rhythm and intense vocals. This track truly shows how Cairo can keep a song musically intense without letting up on power or interesting musical ideas, this time for over eight minutes. 'Valley of the Shadow' closes the album off with another epic track. This song features a lot of interesting vocal arrangements by Bret Douglas, singing in a lower, intense voice while a higher one soars in the background, surrounded by the usual aggressive driving sound. Mark and Alec play some incredible leads during the instrumental segment of this song, which brings the CD to a dramatic close. Highly recommended if you like prog that is a bit keyboard dominated with a modern sound and excellent production. The lyrics (credited to Bret or Bret and Alec) are intelligent, thought provoking, and indicate a good perspective on the world around us, as did the last CD. This is a band that clearly tries to get the listener to think even the songs are challenging to listen to as they are so complex it takes many listens to get to know them. Highly recommended to fans of both old style prog and new. The CD is released by Magna Carta. 208 E. 51st St. #1820 New York, New York 10022 For more information visit the Magna Carta Website : http://www.magnacarta.net Review by -Steve Nicholas steve_nich@yahoo.com |