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Scott Mosher:
Inferno
Before I begin, I think I should make a confession: I really dont like Rush. I know that this can be a musical Mason-Dixon Line sometimes, and I think I should make it clear that I am a partisan of the anti-Rush faction. This means that any singer that sounds even remotely like Geddy Lee or any song that has a hint of progginess to it will instantly turn me off. I should also say, however, that I have many friends who take in for that type of thing, and I can respect their tastes. My fellow Left-Off-the-Dialer, Alex Baia, has a penchant for progish rock (and analytic metaphysicsnotice any connections?), and I having nothing but respect for his general musical views, regardless of the fact that we both listen to music that the other cant stand. That having been said, I will attempt to be somewhat objective about prog-studio aficionado Scott Moshers new album, Inferno. First the good things, of which there are many. Scott is an excellent arranger, with a dramatic sense of dynamics in his compositions. Sometimes a little too dramatic, but well talk about that down below. Even though I would usually rather artificially inseminate an angry cow than listen to this type of music, I never really found myself getting that restless or bored as I listened to this album. That is a pretty big accomplishment, and it says something about the song-writing and arranging skills of Mosher. Also, if I disregarded the cheesiness of some of the effects on the guitars, synths, and drums, the music was pretty interesting, especially the instrumental pieces that comprise about half of the album. Now for the part that will have about an eighth of the readers (maybe even that is an overstatement) thinking I am a complete philistine, which I may very well be. I mentioned above that Moshers songs are very dramatic, but what I left out in my praise is that they are often so overly dramatic that they are silly to the point of hilarity. Now, I know that everyones limit for drama is different, and one mans silly may be anothers subtle and moving; but I cant see how even the second coming of God himself would warrant all the drama that Mosher has packed into this album. Again, some people think that The Wall (movie and album) is subtle; these are the same people who refer to professional wrestling as a delicate ballet. Needless to say, I dont agree. Then there is the singing. Ah, where to begin with the singing? If you think that Mussolini was a generally understated speaker who brought charm and subtlety to the Italian political process, you might find the singing on this album to be just right. For me, it was a little over the top, in the same way that Washington politicians talk about billions of dollars as being a little deficit. I tried with every fiber of my being, while reading the Music Reviewers Code of Responsibility, to take this album seriously. But I just couldnt. The lyrics are so bad that they dont even really warrant review. OK, so where do we stand with Inferno? The bottom line is that if you endlessly pine for the new Rush album or find yourself perusing through the Dream Theater back catalog before you log on to your next session of Everquest, then you will probably love this album. If you do not fit into the above category, avoid this album like the plague.
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