Loading cart
Unfolded Like Staircase (2LP Red Vinyl)
Limited edition on red vinyl.
New edition completely remixed from the multi-track tapes by the great Terry Brown and mastered by Peter Moore. The original mix was somewhat lackluster (and frankly a bit amateur-ish). Brown brings his expertise and breathes new life into this prog rock classic.
Originally released in 1997, this was the band's second album. After stumbling out of the gate with 1994's Push & Profit, Matthew Parmenter let his prog rock freak flag fly and gave us this masterpiece of American prog rock. Certainly one of the best albums of the 90s. Stunning Hammil-esque vocals against a backdrop of intense prog loaded with 'tron, organ, and killer guitar. A very intense and emotional album that will appeal to fans of Van Der Graaf Generator and Genesis.
"I'm listening to this album in my car for days and I can not stop! The second album by Discipline is one of the best records of contemporary progressive rock, highly influenced by the style of Van Der Graaf Generator, with more guitar, a less use of wind instruments, and the typical gothic atmosphere of the legendary band of Peter Hammill. Parmenter (who plays the violin from time to time) does not have the vocal talents of Peter Hammill, but is a good singer, with undoubted skills of interpretation that can fill some technical problems. The style of the band is characterized also by pure rock elements (the guitar played by Bouda is almost everywhere) and sound at times very hard and essential.
Inspired by the greatest poem in history, Dante's "Divina Commedia", namely the fifth canto of Inferno, the opening track, (Canto V) In Limbo, is an excellent song, with ever- changing dynamics, never taken for granted, which Bouda ennobles a great introduction and a memorable final, with excellent guitar solos. Crutches is the second masterpiece: the beautiful opening melody of "The Carrot" soon evolves into a complex composition characterized by large use of tempo changes and nightmarish atmospheres, very close to VDGG. The final section, very beautiful, is a variation on the theme of the opening melody.
The nightmarish atmosphere continues with Into The Dream, the most complex song of the album (I had to hear this track at least six or seven times to appreciate it), a long and varied epic of 22 minutes, and the closing Before The Storm which, similar to Crutches, begins with a beautiful melody (Parmenter here sings accompanied only by piano), and then evolves into complex sound experiments.
If you're a fan of VDGG, surely you will like the album. In my opinion, however, recommended for all lovers of prog. Rating: 9 / 10" - ProgArchives
.