The frenetic fretwork of ‘Magic Carpet’ sees Amplifier riding into deep prog territory by way of an opening to their latest opus. Scorching guitars like a jet engine readying for takeoff and fretwork that soars skywards, not to mention light traces of fancy keyboard wizardry and a mild appropriation of Gustav Holst’s ‘Mars’ from the Planets suite make for a blistering start to the album – but clocking in at under four minutes, the instrumental piece it comes as a bit of a shock. ‘Black Rainbow’ slams in with some heavy-duty riffage, harking back to their storming debut, and again, it’s less than four minutes long, and it’s starting to look like they’ve reigned in their most expansive tendencies, which saw the mammoth ‘Octopus’ project (it was always more than a mere album) and, latterly, ‘Echo Street’. ‘Named After Rocky’ is also vintage Amplifier, a sharp riff and some thunderous percussion driving it along.
Less vintage Amplifier is ‘Cat’s Cradle,’ which manages to sound like Madness and gypsy folk at the same time. It’s not entirely successful, but still boasts a kick-ass guitar and you can’t accuse the band of playing it safe.
‘Open Up’, the album’s first true epic, builds atmosphere with an echo-heavy guitar drifting over a gut-trembling subsonic synth bass before it all explodes in a sonic supernova. When Amplifier really shine, they do so spectacularly, and the placement of the track, with its change of tone and tempo only accentuates the strength of the track, which is a slice of expansive and heavy-hitting space-prog.
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Their propensity for the longer track, it turns out, remains undiminished: ‘OMG’ sprawls over eight and a half minutes and could justifiably be tagged as a prog monster.
‘Crystal Mountain’ segues into ‘Crystal Anthem,’ which drives the album to an explosive conclusion courtesy of some powerhouse drumming. Yes, it’s classic Amplifier, combining big guitars – chunky riffage and blistering lead work – and swirling prog atmospherics, with lyrics that are vintage sci-fi in their preoccupations, but it also represents a band who are continuing to expand their sound at the same time as playing to their strengths.
Amplifier Online
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