By DJ Astrocreep
For a guy that’s been a professional musician for 31 years now, Ray Alder has taken a hell of a long time to get around to a solo album. That said, he’s been involved in 18 studio albums – once as a guest and once as more of a prelude to joining Redemption fully, so it’s not like he has been hiding under a rock. Fates Warning are hardly unknown, with whom he is the longest-serving non-founding member now, so it’s not like he has spent years of lower-level tour grind either – more a case of busy, busy man! The question before my first listen is in which direction Ray would take it musically, would he stick to the kind of stuff he has done before, or go in a slightly different direction, as Jeff Scott Soto has done?
From the off, my earlier question is answered. If you’re a fan of Fates Warning already, this is going to be right up your alley. Ray knows what he’s capable of and how best to showcase his talents and he sticks to that tried and tested formula. This is said in no way to denigrate this release, it’s an extremely well-produced and well-rounded album that fits well alongside the previous works that Ray has drawn acclaim for and everything hits the nail on the head for that borderline sound of progressive rock and metal, where Ray has made his mark across a few decades already.
It’s hard to pick songs out as standout – the entire album is around the same level overall, so I’ll stick with the ones chosen by the band and/or label. ‘Crown Of Thorns’ and ‘What The Water Wanted’ – the almost title track – were their picks and both are fine songs. There is a slightly different feel to the two of them, as is a bit of a theme throughout the album, though everything has enough of a cohesive sound to sound like a completed album, rather than a fractured series of songs instead.
Overall, it’s yet another strong release by InsideOut in a year where they have already had plenty of such, with Ray Alder proving once more that he deserves his place amongst the upper echelon of vocalists in the progressive rock/metal border. A smoothness that belies the number of releases and touring he has been involved in over the years – he sounds easily as good as he has ever done. A strong debut release from an experienced performer.
‘What The Water Wants’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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