Virtuosity Review

Syzygy is an extremely talented classic progressive rock band from Ohio that pulls no punches musically on their splendid second release, The Allegory of Light. Formerly called Witsend, Syzygy has the chops of bands like Dream Theater, but they have the emotion and sensitivity of early 'Selling England' era Genesis.  Made up of virtuoso Carl Baldassarre on guitars,  bass and vocals, Sam Giunta on pianos and synths, and Paul Mihacevich on drums and vocals, Syzygy sounds like...hmm.. well, in places they sound slightly like other bands, but overall they are really quite unique. The vocals parts are a bit Moody Blues-like, very early 70's sounding. Lyrically, they sing about God ( Master of Light), suffering (Beggar's Tale), and unfulfilled love (Forbidden), but the vocal parts are fairly insignificant as the majority of the album is full-on progressive instrumental meandering. Their spiritual perspective doesn't appear to be Christian, but perhaps more influenced by Eastern philosophy (one member cites the Tibetan Book of the Dead as an inspiration, and all thank God in the liner notes). Musically is where this album really blows me away.  It's got those unpredictable, constantly evolving musical progressions that I've always loved from bands like Happy the Man or Liquid Tension Experiment. While the total shred-fest of bands like Dream Theater or Cairo that just showcase chops gets old for me after a while, Syzygy manages to mix that caliber of musicianship with mellower, more emotive instrumental segments, which to me is a much more balanced attack, and  ultimately more satisfying. I have a hard time imagining any real prog fan not liking this album, although if you are solely into hummable vocal melodies and pop-flavored prog, you may find it a bit too left-field musically. Syzygy gets a huge thumbs up from me, I haven't been able to dislodge it from my CD player, which to me is the ultimate test. Go to http://www.syzygymusic.com/ for more information on the band.  {dt 10/03}

Copyright 2003 Syzygy Music Enterprises, LLC U.S.A.
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