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Octane

a Studio Release
Release Year:
2005
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Added To Proggnosis on: 11 Dec 2004

Track Listing 

    A Flash Before My Eyes:
  1. The Ballet Of The Impact (5:34)
    1. Prelude To The Past
    2. The Ultimate Quiet
    3. A Blizzard Of My Memories
  2. I Wouldn't Let It Go (4:53)
  3. Surfing Down The Avalanche (3:43)
  4. She Is Everything (6:46)
    1. Strange What You Remember
    2. Words Of Forever
  5. Climbing Up That Hill (3:31)
  6. Letting Go (1:52)
  7. Of The Beauty Of It All (4:53)
    1. If I Could Paint A Picture
    2. Into The Great Unknowable
  8. NWC (4:16)
  9. There Was A Time (4:58)
  10. The Planet's Hum (4:42)
  11. Watching The Tide (5:07)
  12. As Long As We Ride (5:35)
    Special Edition Bonus Disc:
  1. When She's Gone
  2. Follow Me To Sleep
  3. Game Face
  4. Broken Promise Land
  5. Listening To The Sky extras from "A Flash Before My Eyes":
  6. Someday I'll Be Found
  7. I Was Never Lost
  8. Paint Me A Picture
  9. The Formulation Of Octane (video)

Performer Credits  


Ryo Okumoto
hammond and mellotron
Dave Meros
bass, vocals,
Alan Morse
electric guitars, vocals
Nick D'Virgilio
drums, percussion, vocals

Reviews


review by: MarcYou will find a comprehensive review of Octane, by MJBrady, below. I will only add that I find Octane to be an excellent Prog album, far superior to the Beard's previous album, and I would go as far as saying that I like it better than Neal Morse's two solo albums.

If this CD had been put out by an unknown new band, we would all be crying "genious". Highly recommended, but has to be listened to with an open mind.


review by: MJBradyFollowing this band has been every bit the adventure as some of their cds are, at times it's hard to believe that the band is still in existance since they debuted with the impressive release - The Light one full decade ago in 1995. This enduring dedication to progressive rock is both a tribute to the band members and the fact that progressive rock fans still refuse to quit enjoying the music that they so dearly love. Yet even today as I listen again to this cd, I feel like I have to write this review as I would be listening to a different band than the Spock's Beard I grew to appreciate since the bands' onset.

Yes, the band lost an integral member in Neal Morse, and those who have heard Neal's music since the split, are well aware that neal took many of the Beard's most significant attributes with him, as his solo work has been everybit as good as the very best Beard works. Now this re-invented band had to find a new identity to project to an old audience, and in their attempts since the Morse departure, results have varied. Understanding that the band lost not only it's lead vocalist and main songwriter, as well as talented musician, it would be wrong for anyone fan or reviewer alike to compare this version of Spock's Beard with the NM era.

So with an open ear and open mind, the new Spock's Beard cd - Octane is far different musically, yes it progressive rock, yet the band seems to have adopted a more diverse approach, ranging from almost metal heavy to folkish/space rock, with more than it's share of mood swings. Drummer Nick Di Virgilio now is the bands lead singer, and he has a nice voice, very genuine and versatile, he may have been the best kept secret in the band during the NM years, as a singer that is.

Spock's really has overhauled their sound here, they have obviously found a happy median of what they used to be, and what they have become. The songwriting is what seems the most different to my ears. Which overall seems far less ambitious from the instrumentation aspects or their past. They are more vocally dominant, and a bit more simplified, focusing more on lyrical development, and of course DiVirgilio's singing.

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