Built For Fighting

5CD slipcase set includes the following 5 albums:InfinityEvolutionEscapeFrontiersRaised On Radio

"In better than 25 years, singer and songwriter Damian Wilson has had a remarkable and prolific career. Lately known for his work with progressive rock acts Threshold and Headspace, Wilson has also done solo work over the years. Built For Fighting is latest and fourth solo studio album, and once more produced by Andrew Holdsworth.To be honest at the start, I think Damian Wilson is one of the best singers on the planet. So don't expect some objective unbiased review. It ain't happening.Wilson's versatility and range, tone and timbre, are well suited for progressive rock and metal to the AOR melodic rock of Built For Fighting. I've liked most everything that he's been a part of, simply because I like listening to his voice. He has a natural melodic sweetness wrapped in inherent passion.Wilson is also an exceptional songwriter. He writes songs that are dripping with melody, often defined by his voice, acoustic guitar, or piano. Also, his lyrics are usually intelligent and cogent, filled with meaning. With this album, and I'm merely speculating here, his words seem more reflective, perhaps introspective, thoughtful of his life, times, and relationships.To the songs, as mentioned earlier, they are largely AOR melodic rock, many times within a symphonic wrapper. The album has some variety and some shifts in character. The first five songs are lighter fare dominated by the trio of the piano and acoustic guitar lines with Wilson' voice. Yet, the lead track and first single Thrill Me is a bit more spry and lively, coming off as attractive and radio-friendly power pop. Alternatively, Fire turns almost entirely on voice and piano, wrapped in violin and cello. It's a beautiful piece of music.Halfway in, beginning with short, catchy and sexy, Sex & Vanilla, Wilson and crew get their groove on again. The song is another punch of power pop. The following Can't Heal War is also a bit more heavy thanks to the sharp riffs. Written In Anger, a song that seems almost autobiographical, becomes more dense and moody from the deeper bottom end, riffage, and generous orchestration. All I Need returns you once more to the brisk riffs and groove of a power rock song. In the end, the album winds down with two quieter songs, I Won't Blame Life and Battlelines. Wrapped in the lightness of acoustic guitar and orchestration, then led by Wilson's voice, both songs have passionate lyrical themes: the former to life and loss in relationships, the latter to the irony of war.So what's my biased bottom line? I liked everything about Built For Fighting. Damian Wilson is a superb singer who writes exceptional melodic rock songs. His voice is terrific, the music delightful. Get the album. You won't be disappointed in the least." - Dangerdog.com

"Toto's compilation is to be recommended in that it contains all four of the group's Top Ten hit singles -- "Hold the Line," "Rosanna," "Africa," and "I Won't Hold You Back." It also contains four more of Toto's 14 pop chart singles -- "Georgy Porgy," "99," "I'll Be Over You," and "Pamela." But that means it leaves out six chart entries, including the Top 40 hits "Make Believe," "Stranger in Town," and "Without Your Love." In their place are an album track from the most recent album, The Seventh One, and four newly recorded songs co-written and sung by the group's fourth lead vocalist, Jean-Michel Byron, who is more soulful than his predecessors, but no more memorable. As such, this is not the ideal Toto best-of and earns its "pick" designation over Toto IV only by virtue of its inclusion of the group's first hit, "Hold the Line."" - Allmusic

\"With Book 3, The Chronicles of Father Robin reach the final chapter of “The Songs & Tales of Airoea”. This dynamic and soulful journey starts with the upbeat “Magical Chronicle”, a vocal driven track full of lush harmonies and clear references to prog classics such as Gentle Giant, Yezda Urfa and the Canterbury Scene. From the atmospheric “Skyslumber” and the soaring prog ballad that Yes never wrote, “Cloudship”, the album burst into the dynamic psych-rocker “Empress of the Sun”, a song full of energy and contrast eventually sliding into a keyboard lead middle part reminiscent of The Doors at their most adventurous. Finishing the album “Lost in the Palace Gardens” starts off with a beautiful acoustic guitar part brining associations to British folk bands such as Steeleye Span, but also the guitar work of a certain Jimmy Page. The track follows up with vocal parts where Andreas Prestmo and Aleksandra Morozova’s voices perfectly complement each other, making it a perfect culmination of this highly ambitious body of work where Father Robin explores the cloud lands in the Sky. Featuring members from some of the most revered progressive rock bands from Norway, Wobbler, Jordsjø, Tusmørke and seasoned post-rockers The Samuel Jackson Five, TCOFR is a veritable all-star team. “The Songs & Tales of Airoea”, 30 years in the making, is a cohesive triple concept album with 18 songs set in an alternate archaic world for over a period of three decades. The first album, “Book I”, was released on September 15th, and “Book II” will be out December 08th. The Chronicles of Father Robin (TCOFR) emerged from the remains of the band Fangorn back in 1993- 94, mainly inspired by the classic bands and albums of the early 1970s progressive music scene, alongside contemporary bands like Änglagård, Anekdoten, White Willow and Landberk."

"It's as easy to see why radio listeners loved Toto as it is to see why critics hated them. Toto's rock-studio chops allowed them to play any current pop style at the drop of a hi-hat: one minute prog rock, the next hard rock, the next funky R&B. It all sounded great, but it also implied that music-making took craft rather than inspiration and that the musical barriers critics like to erect were arbitrary. Then, too, Toto's timing couldn't have been much worse. They rode in during the middle of punk/new wave with its D.I.Y. aesthetic, and their sheer competence was an affront. Of course, there's always been an alternate history of popular music not available to rock critics (it's written in record stores and concert halls and on the radio), and in that story, Toto was a smash. Singles like "I'll Supply the Love" and "Georgy Porgy" (featuring Cheryl Lynn) made the charts, and "Hold the Line" hit the Top Ten and went gold. The members of Toto had already influenced the course of '70s popular music by playing on half the albums that came out of L.A. All they were doing with this album was going public." - Allmusic

Its been seven years since Phideaux Xavier's last album.  Everyone has been chomping at the bit for this album and I can honestly say he delivers the goods.  If you are unfamiliar with his work you should expect contemporary progressive rock with lots of references to the 70s giants.  A perfect blending of old and new sounds.  (I'm a sucker for the Mellotron sounding bits).  While he originally started out as pretty much a one man show, Phideaux has morphed into a band with 10 musicians contributing, including Discipline's Matthew Kennedy who holds down the bass notes.  There is a lot of music here and its new so its going to take some time to digest.  This will easily sit high on year end top 10 lists.  Buckle yourself in and dig deep into this one.  Well worth the effort.BUY OR DIE!"Arguably no other progressive rock creation in recent years has been shrouded in as much mystery and expectation as Infernal, the latest studio effort from Phideaux. After all, it follows what many fans (myself included) consider to be three of the best genre albums of all time: 2007’s Doomsday Afternoon, 2009’s Number Seven, and 2011’s Snowtorch. (Of course, the prior collections were great as well and paved the way for such distinction.) As such, devotees have spent the last seven years—if not eleven since Infernal concludes the Great Leap/Doomsday Afternoon set—speculating and anticipating how exceptionally it’ll tie into the trilogy, maintain the idiosyncratic brilliance of its predecessors, and rank as one of the top works of its release year.So, was it worth the wait?Well, that depends on what you expect. Upon initial listens, those hoping for a consistent continuation of the aforementioned trio’s robust eccentric intricacy may find it a bit wanting; sure, that side of Phideaux certainly crops up from time to time within its ninety-minute duration (especially during the second half), but Infernal is deceptively unvaried and reductive at first glance since it appears to prioritize straightforward songwriting and lush yet modest arrangements. However, a deeper analysis and appreciation reveals how resourcefully Infernal actually does two things at once: touch upon the styles and stories of its two narrative precursors while also establishing an almost brand-new approach entirely. Thus, the double LP is markedly different from—yet equivalent to—the extraordinary achievements that came before it.Just as The Great Leap and Doomsday Afternoon were different kinds of albums, so too is Infernal (despite featuring the complete Doomsday Afternoon line-up). In fact, during our last correspondence, Phideaux confirmed my conclusion that the first and second discs are meant to channel the first and second entries in the trilogy, respectively, as it simultaneously feels more theatrical (“like a play”) than either of them. Perhaps, then, it’s best to think of Infernal as the BE (Pain of Salvation) or The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis) of the band’s discography, as it extends out of its predecessors in the midst of existing as a singular experiment unlike anything else in their catalog.Although the first half of the undertaking captures the more accessible rock nature of The Great Leap overall, it’s still filled with multilayered splendor and a fair amount of complexity. Opener “Cast Out and Cold,” for instance, is a tour-de-force that builds ominously (with effects and harmonies) before instantly evoking the classic Phideaux charm with its blend of male/female lamentations and pastoral instrumentation. In doing so, it sets a great stage on which to introduce the more multifaceted, urgent, and dynamic “The Error Lives On”. Later, “We Only Have Eyes for You” is relatively bouncy and playful (despite being foreboding beneath the surface), whereas “C99” is a venture into sinister surrealism and “Tumbleweed” uses the trademark piano ballad as a poignant cliffhanger. Again, these songs in particular may seem too similar to each other originally, but they eventually become truly essential components in making the record flow like a unified performance filled with captivating melodies, lively textures, poetic lyricism, and entrancing structures.The concluding portion of Infernal absolutely channels Doomsday Afternoon in its heighted emphasis on flamboyant intricacy. This is clear from the start, with “The Order of Protection (One)” contrasting its introductory choral serenity with a latter helping of dissonant tones over mesmerizingly mischievous piano motifs (that—no surprise—are reimagined brilliantly in “The Order of Protection (Two)”). Elsewhere, “In Dissonance We Play” finds a strong balance between solid songwriting and musical showmanship, “The Sleepers Wake” is tenderly enchanting, and “Endgame – An End” wraps things up in a mildly foreseeable yet entirely fitting and satisfying way. Without question, though, the standout track of the whole journey is “From Hydrogen to Love,” a fourteen-minute masterpiece that serves as the “Microdeath Softstar” of Infernal (in more ways than one and I’ll leave it at that).At the risk of spoiling any more of the LP’s magic (hence why the breakdowns of each disc barely scratched their surfaces), suffice it to say that arguably the chief feats of Infernal are its abundant allusions to past sequences and its refreshing theatricality. Not only does it offer plenty of links—both subtle and overt—to itself, Doomsday Afternoon, and The Great Leap as it develops, but it even throws a nod or two at another full-length triumph (whose identity is then made obvious via a clever anagram). Every one of these connections will delight devotees, as will the brief scattered respites that basically act like soliloquys/monologues/intermissions. Together, these elements make the album feel at once laudably unique and endearingly familiar while also revealing (and justifying) why it took so long for such a passion project to be completed.Ingeniously, Infernal simultaneously pays tribute to the Phideaux legacy and etches itself as a wildly ambitious, enthralling, and fresh entry into it. Although it can be a bit incongruent and underwhelming at first, those who fully internalize all that it offers—and appreciate what it’s doing both expectedly and differently—will find it to be another benchmark creation in the catalog of one of the most distinctive and essential artists in modern progressive rock. Taking that into consideration, a new question must be asked: Is it Phideaux’s greatest achievement to date?Well, it could be." - The Prog Report