Gerard - The Ruins Of A Glass Fortress

Year of Release: 2000
Label: Musea
Catalog Number: FGBG 4364.AR
Format: CD
Total Time: 44:20:00

The big surprise for me at NEARfest 2002 was the keyboard based trio Gerard. Going into their set, I had not heard a note of music from this band. I was completely captivated by the music and energy. I believe it was Enchant's vocalist that stated it sounded like they had eight musicians on stage. The band went over very well with the audience, and considering they were a replacement, all's well that ends well.

The Ruins Of A Glass Fortress puts forth the power of their live show. An aggressive approach mixes the power of heavy rock with the complexity and musicianship associated with progressive music. The only negative here are the poor vocals, so stick to the instrumentals guys! Luckily there are only two vocal tracks on the disc. This is in your face bombastic symphonic heavy rock, with layers of keyboards, at times heavy fuzz bass and battering drums. I find the melodies to be very memorable. Sometimes you just don't need to say a lot, if you are a fan of instrumental symphonic keyboard driven music, that chugs ahead at full steam, get this CD.

Tracklisting:
Labyrinth (4:38) / The Edge Of Darkness (10:30) / Time Paradox (5:12) / Awake (5:01) / Fall Into A Doze (7:39) / The Ruins Of A Glass Fortress Pt 1 (3:31) / The Ruins Of A Glass Fortress Pt 2 (8:29)

Musicians:
Toshio Egawa - keyboards
Atsushi Hasegawa - bass
Masuhiro Goto - drums

Additional musicians:

Jean Luc F. Nazaki - vocals

Discography:
Gerard (1984)
Empty Lie, Empty Dream (1985)
Irony Of Fate (1990)
Save Knight By The Night (1990)
The Pendulum (1996)
Evidence of True Love (MCD) (1997)
Pandora's Box (1997)
Meridian (1998)
Live In Marseille (1999)
The Ruins Of A Glass Fortress (2001)
Sighs Of The Water (2002)
Power Of Infinity (2004)

also appearances on:
Keyboard Triangle (2000)
Keyboard Triangle 2/Live (2002)

Genre: Symphonic Prog

Origin JP

Added: September 8th 2002
Reviewer: Eric Porter

Artist website: sound.jp/gerard/
Hits: 3149
Language: english