Artist: 3
Title: The Ghost You Gave To Me
Genre: Progressive Rock / New Prog / Psychedelic Rock / Rockabily
Release Date: 7th October 2011
Label: Metalblade
Album Review
Apparently 2 is the number of God, 2 times 3 comes out as 6 which if you repeat twice (since one doesn’t say six hundred sixty six but six six six) is the ethereal dial for the Devil, so yes, 3 would seem quite the mystical symbol for a stairway to Hell (or back to Heaven) as well. Or it is ‘The Fantastic Four’ minus one?! Let’s just come to conclusion that we’re not going to delve into occult with pseudo-mathematics, even though ‘The Ghost You Gave To Me’ album is their number 6 and thus it is tempting to go and connect some dots in this haphazard fashion (especially as Eppard seems to give an impression that his lyrics came as some sort of premonition of earthquake and tsunami earlier this year in Japan). On the other hand the title 3 was chosen for the relevance as to how we construct reality in three aspects according the founding member of the band. The more precise quote of Joey Eppard goes like this “we live in a 3 dimensional universe on the 3rd planet from the sun, experiencing time as past, present and future in a form that consists of mind, body and spirit.” The thing is we don’t live in a three dimensional universe, but that’s for a lecture in science that they seemed to have missed out on and not for a review, so let’s set out to see how it sounds.
After settling down to listen in more detail, I’m wondering if ‘React’ was a result of a trauma the band had with the record label in its past. Although they’re more than able to shoot higher they seem to be targeting the mainstream listeners especially in this song, but also with the first half of the album and some parts of the second. All that seems to be stacked under what’s collectively seems to be called “accessibility” but sometimes really comes down to equal a conscious dumping down of something that bears potential of more complexity and intelligence. So I’m not sure about the claim of their promo material that “3 transcends the genre conformity of modern pop culture”. In that level the album failed for me though it sounds pleasant, but then so does a lot of the songs out there that pour out of radio stations every day, all blending into the same mass in memory soon after. Some compare them to OPETH and some other big names on the Prog scene, but I’m just not convinced that they are worthy of such comparisons. With this album they sound to me more like a Prog boy band, especially when it comes to the vocals that in particular don’t fit when they get into more metal riffs than rock positions. Take away the singing, the music itself sounded more interesting, but it didn’t stand out to me strongly and the album wasn’t something that would imprint itself impressively in my memory, and I’m not exactly enthusiastic about it.
Tracklist
01. Sirenum Scopuli – 1.10
02. React – 4.11
03. Sparrow – 4.04
04. High Times – 4.37
05. Numbers – 4.39
06. One With the Sun – 6.09
07. The Ghost You Gave to Me – 3.56
08. Pretty – 4.51
09. Afterglow – 4.10
10. Its Alive – 3.51
11. Only Child – 7.18
12. The Barrier – 5.27
Line-up
Joey Eppard - Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitar
The Gartdrumm - Drums, Backing Vocals
Billy Riker - Electric Guitar
Daniel Grimsland - Bass, backing vocals
Websites
http://www.theband3.com / http://www.myspace.com/officialbandthree
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 6.5
Sound: 6
Total: 6.3 / 10
Comments powered by CComment