The Details: Magellan vocalist/keyboardist Trent Gardner has put together another prog-rock superstar band and the result is a fun progstravaganza and the second Explorers Club release, Raising The Mammoth. This new edition of the club features a vast assortment of talented musicians – Dream Theater’s John Myung (bass) and James LaBrie (vocals) contribute as well as Kansas alumni Kerry Livgren (guitar) and Steve Walsh (vocals). Other notables include Terry Bozzio, Marty Friedman, Gary Wehrkamp and Mark Robertson. Is it accessible? Hell no! This, like most new prog, is not something you’re gonna hear blasting at a frat party. But the day when we turn to frat parties for music is a sad day indeed. But for the prog-aficionado, budding musician or random stoned guy, this is an enjoyable hour of blatant progressive rock.
The Highlights: There are only two songs on Raising The Mammoth, but – you guessed it – they’re both epics! And what’s more, they’re spread out over 44 tracks! Is it ridiculous? Yes, it is. Raising The Mammoth 1 is a three-part suite in which you can access nearly any chord change instantaneously as each of the three parts have between 6 and 13 tracks. (Part One) Passage To Paralysis [tracks 1-13] has some nice licks and solid vocals, but the best parts are (Part Two) Broad Decay [tracks 14-19] and (Part Three) Vertebrates [tracks 20-27]. Vertebrates features some very amusing lyrics (Gardner’s, no doubt) sung by James LaBrie. The second epic is called Raising The Mammoth 2 (AKA Prog-O-Matic): 1) Gigantipithicus (Instrumental). Notice the “1)”. This probably means a RTM2 (Part 2) is coming in the not-so-distant future. This one is much more experimental, with an overabundance of solos (check out Gardner’s keyboard solo [tracks 40+] for a quick fix). Expect the unexpected, sometimes for the better and sometimes otherwise.
The Bottom Line: This is a solid album from some excellent musicians, but its accessibility is low. If you’re a fan of neo-prog/prog-metal (Dream Theater, Magellan, Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic, etc.) or a Kansas supporter, you’ll want this album. Magna Carta is the hottest progressive label in the world, and they’ve got even better stuff than this, so for those testing the waters try some Liquid Tension Experiment or Enchant first.
- Dustin Wall
