Persephone's Dream - Pan: An Urban Pastoral (2010)

:103-in-love-9:

Рок-группа Persephone's Dream ,была создана в Питтсбурге (USA,Pennsylvania) в 1993 году гитаристом Rowen Poole и басистом Chris Siegle. Играют музыкальное ассорти из Rush и Dream Theater, а также Marillion и Renaissance.
Line-up / Musicians
- Ashley Peer / vocals
- Rowen Poole / guitars
- James Waugaman / keyboards
- Roman Prokopenko / bass
- Scot Harvey / drums
- John Tallent / percussion

О группе (изучаем английский...) :
...I found the best way to enjoy this album is to totally immerse yourself in the music via a good pair of headphones. No distractions allows one to concentrate on the music and that is exactly what you will want to do when listening to this outstanding release. It is quite a good story and like any concept album worth its salt is worthwhile following along to. The introductory notes and lyrics will shed more light on the concept than I will do here but suffice to say the band put a lot of thought into it. The story involves a young man in the middle of a bustling city scape who suddenly finds himself in more natural surroundings. While in the forest he comes face to face with Pan (the Greek God for nature). This is a world of enlightenment and beauty and our protagonist is not sure if it real or just a dream. This is in direct contrast to the pollution filled city where the young man lives. It is a fascinating storyline and worth investing some time into. This is quite a varied release as the band touches on folk, classical, ambient, eclectic and heavy prog, but it is mostly symphonic progressive rock that reminds me of those glorious days of the 70s. The music is laced with delicate pastoral passages and harder hitting riffs without venturing into progressive metal. Both guitar and keyboards are used extensively and plenty of vintage sounds can be found throughout. The album mixes both instrumental segments and vocal pieces and many songs are short segue ways into longer compositions. Sound effects are also used effectively often setting up a specific setting or mood. Both male and female vocalists do a fine job and don't overdue do it with excessive meanderings giving the instruments plenty of room to breathe. The transitions between the songs are very smooth so it is best to listen to the album as a whole as every part is important to the story and the overall experience...