Member:
ffroyd
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by ffroyd)
Date:
2/1/2007
Format:
CD (Album)
Ole Ivar Jøregensen – Guitars, Mellotron, Theremin, Sax squeals, Mini Moog, Sound FX, Words
Stig-Rune Holien – Drums, Percussion
Kriss Sternland – Hammond organ, Piano, Mini Moog, Synthesizers
Arne Wikstrøm – Saxophone, Akai synstesizer Woodwinds
Steffan Hunstad – Bass
I’ve been waiting to hear this one for a while now. Ever since I heard the demo tracks about a year or so ago, I knew this was going to be something that I would like and I’m not disappointed with the finished product at all. For those that don’t know him Ole has been a PE member for quite and frequents the chat room here quite often. That’s how I found out about his music. According to their web site, the band was formed in late 2002 in Bodo, Norway. They’ve been working really hard to get this album out and they should be very proud of it.
The disc opens up with some weird synthesized voice and I thought I might be listening to an Aphex Twin album or something at first. It’s a strange way to start things out but it does make for an interesting start. MetroGnom’s style is a mixture of old school Scandinavian prog, jazz fusion, and jam band with a little bit of metal thrown in here and there. There are only four tracks but each one of them is very long. Lots of vintage keyboard sounds and some really nice saxophone parts make this a very cool listen. The only problem some people may have with this music is that some parts seem to have been stretched out a bit too long. I personally don’t mind but people that have a shorter attention span will probably tune out before things get really good. Reminds me a little bit of Wobbler, maybe a bit more jazzy in spots. The improvisation on this is really nice and that’s probably my favorite aspect of the CD.
My favorite track is still “Ten peppermint butterflies in a ray of moonlight” which was available as a demo for download from the website. If you like great adventurous instrumental prog fusion with lots of brilliant keyboard parts and a heavy dose of jamming, I would recommend checking these guys out.
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