THE SKINNY: Behind the Sun is a five-man progressive rock outfit in Israel. Their self-titled debut was released in late May of this year, seeing some exposure on the local and international front. While the record on the whole doesn't appeal to me consistently, it showcases glimpses of innovation and compositional intelligence that I can only assume will evolve and mature when the band gets in the studio again.
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/behindthesunmusic
PURCHASE: Amazon
Behind the Sun's self-titled debut release is a progressive rock work with much in common with Riverside's older catalog. If you've ever checked out Dream Theater's middle discography, which pays homage to many different Hungarian modes and flavors, then you might see some resemblance there, too.
Guitarists Aaron Lieber and Assaf Kopelnikov make this album interesting. For one, I've never seen a heavy rock band with a guitarist so often finger picking jazz chords on an electric guitar. Lieber outlines vocalist Gad Erez's melodies with pedal tones and rhythmic finger picking enough to make some jam bands jealous. If you've ever heard Riverside, you'd remember their guitars as ambient and simple, a hard contrast to what Behind the Sun's guitar instrumentation provides, despite the other broad similarities.
Behind the Sun's debut doesn't appeal to me musically aside from these guitar moments which I think show the band's real potential. In what seems like a classic case of great musicians with a lackluster thirst and ability for songwriting, the record drops off as being slightly too drawn out and over zealous. I'll have to stress that my complaints are with the actual recorded album and not the band, however.
The album's production does take away from the performance. A trebly snare, an awkward kick drum tone, and unconventional panning make certain movements of these very long pieces hard to enjoy, despite the group's musicianship. Less is more with independent music. If you can't pull it off, its probably best to not try it, because this is how people judge you. The album's last track is a great example, where a low filter cut gradually turns the mix to a very FM radio sound, before returning to full spectrum audio; a cool effect that simply sounds cheesy when not executed correctly. It's true, I try to stay away from criticizing production on independent music, but a consumer typically won't be as forgiving. The overall clarity of the recordings are just fine, but even the drum and bass sometimes feel rhythmically out of sync, which can be unpleasant.
So, after initially being put off by the record, I decided to look at some live footage of the band to get a better idea of what the band was capable of. It boils down to this: Behind the Sun have debuted with an immensely ambitious first effort, clearly trying to compete with other progressive powerhouses in the industry, and they deserve nothing less than a congratulations for putting their best foot forward and creating something with depth and vision. For this reason, along with what I think is some unarguably very smart guitar playing, Behind the Sun's debut deserves some credit and admiration.
Watch the Album Trailer
"The Professionals" off of Behind the Sun
FAVORITE TRACK: Fifteenth Dawn
FOR FANS OF: Riverside, Pearl Jam, Dream Theater, Tool
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/behindthesunmusicPURCHASE: Amazon
Behind the Sun's self-titled debut release is a progressive rock work with much in common with Riverside's older catalog. If you've ever checked out Dream Theater's middle discography, which pays homage to many different Hungarian modes and flavors, then you might see some resemblance there, too.
Guitarists Aaron Lieber and Assaf Kopelnikov make this album interesting. For one, I've never seen a heavy rock band with a guitarist so often finger picking jazz chords on an electric guitar. Lieber outlines vocalist Gad Erez's melodies with pedal tones and rhythmic finger picking enough to make some jam bands jealous. If you've ever heard Riverside, you'd remember their guitars as ambient and simple, a hard contrast to what Behind the Sun's guitar instrumentation provides, despite the other broad similarities.
Behind the Sun's debut doesn't appeal to me musically aside from these guitar moments which I think show the band's real potential. In what seems like a classic case of great musicians with a lackluster thirst and ability for songwriting, the record drops off as being slightly too drawn out and over zealous. I'll have to stress that my complaints are with the actual recorded album and not the band, however.
The album's production does take away from the performance. A trebly snare, an awkward kick drum tone, and unconventional panning make certain movements of these very long pieces hard to enjoy, despite the group's musicianship. Less is more with independent music. If you can't pull it off, its probably best to not try it, because this is how people judge you. The album's last track is a great example, where a low filter cut gradually turns the mix to a very FM radio sound, before returning to full spectrum audio; a cool effect that simply sounds cheesy when not executed correctly. It's true, I try to stay away from criticizing production on independent music, but a consumer typically won't be as forgiving. The overall clarity of the recordings are just fine, but even the drum and bass sometimes feel rhythmically out of sync, which can be unpleasant.
So, after initially being put off by the record, I decided to look at some live footage of the band to get a better idea of what the band was capable of. It boils down to this: Behind the Sun have debuted with an immensely ambitious first effort, clearly trying to compete with other progressive powerhouses in the industry, and they deserve nothing less than a congratulations for putting their best foot forward and creating something with depth and vision. For this reason, along with what I think is some unarguably very smart guitar playing, Behind the Sun's debut deserves some credit and admiration.
Watch the Album Trailer
"The Professionals" off of Behind the Sun
FAVORITE TRACK: Fifteenth Dawn
FOR FANS OF: Riverside, Pearl Jam, Dream Theater, Tool
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