eMusic Pick of the Day: Octane

Huge vocal harmonies and evocative themes make this a great find for prog rock fans.

Spock’s Beard return to the music stores with their first record since Light [Bonus Tracks] in June, 2004. It’s an odd package. There are two discs here; the first is the album Octane. The first seven tracks are a conceptual suite entitled “A Flash Before My Eyes,” based on a story by John Boegehold. It’s about the experiences of a man in the process of experiencing a car wreck as it happens and watching his life flash before him as it passes out of him. He recalls everything from his parents’ separation on Christmas, high-school football games and meeting his wife and creating a life with her. It all ends at the end of the flash. The overture, “Prelude to the Past,” is all big prog symphonic rock Former frontman and guitarist Neal Morse’s gigantic presence is still missed, but the ambition here is sweeping. Nonetheless, drummer and frontman Nick D’Virgilio is putting forth the effort and he has a compelling presence as a singer, but his lyrics aren’t yet there, they still tell more than show. The contrast between Boegehold’s narrative passages and the song lyrics that illustrate them is harsh. The music, while more “accessible” than in the past and harder in its rock-ist intentions, still has plenty of flair and verve though one does miss the wonderfully labyrinthine passages and surprises of yore. The remainder of disc one and disc two is a collection of “other” songs, unrelated to the suite. Of these, the instrumental “NWC” and “Watching the Tide” work best. There is also a promotional video at the end of the second disc that offers a rather irreverent view of the making of Octane.

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