Explorers Club-Age of Impact

A tour de force of some of the most impeccable prog music you're ever likely to hear, Explorers Club is the culmination of over 10 of true prog's most known musicians including, but not limited to, Trent Gardner, Terry Bozzio, John Petrucci, James Murphy, Bret Douglas, D.C. Cooper, and James LaBrie. Quite unsuprisingly the album comes across as being a mix of Dream Theater, Royal Hunt, Magellan, and several other similar bands, although there are some 80's Rush influences thrown in here and there, thankfully not too often. Something of a concept album of how fate speaks through our thoughts and actions, the disc is divided into five VERY long songs, altogether covering a span of well over 50 minutes. Most of the songs are absolutely dominated by Petrucci's solos, and that alone should be worth the price of admission, as these come across in a fantastic manner; however I should note that this might not appeal to everyone; the songs are extremely long winded, with pace and time changes throughout, and it's going to be really hard to keep track of the songs on the first 10-20 listens. You also have to be in the mood for this kind of music. At times when I plopped this into the stereo, I found the music to be totally unbearable and downright annoying...yet at other times, it sounded like pure genius, as the songs absolutely flawlessly flowed together to create one impeccable and totally and utterly progressive journey into the mind of Trent Gardner (who incidentally wrote all the songs). Seems I've said enough however...let me try and sum up each song.

1. Fate Speaks - 16:00 The track starts off with some acoustic guitars before erupting into a tooling bass sound - this forms a pretty catchy riff that will be used in two other tracks on the disc. From there on, Petrucci's long winded solo takes form, and lasts for quite awhile, until somewhere 4 1/2 minutes into the song, the track slows down a bit to the first type of verse - this uses a late 70's Rush approach, as it has a little jazzy side to it which is thankfully not held for too long; the latter part of the verse sounds more like Dream Theater, as does the chorus - "...there comes a time when you realize it's all over sooner or later, all of us together stop pretending it's not, it's going down, it's going down, nobody listens, I can't believe it...". The singer does his best to imitate James LaBrie, and I can say that he does a good job at doing so. There is another LONG Petrucci solo afterwards which leads smoothly into the second verse, which follows the same approach as the first, albeit in a slightly more caustic manner. Rather than going on to the chorus, there is another great solo which leads into the second, and I should note, much better, part of the song - it's really bombastic, but manages to retain certain similarities with the previous 10 minutes of the track. These last 6 or so minutes include a GREAT keyboard section towards the end, before finally fading away into track #2. The opener pretty much decides the fate of the entire album - you either love it or hate it. The first 10 minutes can prove to be VERY annoying to many people; luckily I wasn't one of them, and could safely enjoy the remainder of the disc.

2. Fading Fast - 8:45 May I be so blunt as to say that this is a much better track? Yes...I'll say it, because this is indeed a splendid song, and most often proves to be my favorite track on the disc. It's also no secret that this one starts out REALLY strange - weird synth sounds, some sort of chant/moan thing, a little 30 second tribal section (yep, that's right)...there's finally a guitar solo some 3 minutes into the track which leads into the first verse - incredibly soft, somewhat reminiscent of waves crashing against the shore; the ultra soft vocals set the atmosphere perfectly, as they help the section build up into an incredible and long winding solo which leads into the bombastic finale - "...Feel the meaning of power, meaning of fear, but it's death that's chasing me fast. So who really gives a damn if I make it at all, I'm just another one that's passed...". Excellent singing throughout, as the song continues the great concept of fate...

3. No Returning - 8:20 Another music test here, because a lot of people will find the ultra long usage of 60's keyboard/guitar sounds in the beginning to be quite unbearable. Hell, even I peered at the stereo waiting for the section to come to an end...and when it does, you're gonna be treated to several suprises - first of all, none other than James LaBrie delivers the vocals, and does a great job. Another thing - this uses a similar bass sound as the first song, but there are no jazzy moments to disturb the listener - rather an extremely catchy and upbeat chorus. Lyrically, this seems to talk about pessimism and how it pertains to fate - "...just call me Mr. Dark, Mr. Negative, I'm pessimistic, fatalistic, with an attitude that's turned ballistic...". Nice stuff, and at only 8:20 minutes, this is the shortest track on the album!

4. Time Enough - 9:15 Quite a song...this should appeal to pretty much anyone, despite it's slow and methodic pace. D.C. Cooper delivers some splendid vocals here, and the music backs up the bravado quite well. Some nice soloing in the beginning, but the actual verse relies mainly on piano backed vocals, which talk about giving up on life...there is a slow, Pink Floyd-ish solo afterwards which emplies a saxaphone type sound backed by some keyboards - this leads into the last section of the verse, a bit more thick than the first, but still pretty slow. This is done is an almost hopeless manner (which is perfect for the mood of the song), and conveys all sorts of emotions to the listener; Cooper's voice is defenitely at least partly responsible for this. A truly stunning song, but it requires several listens to fully grasp it's sheer prowess and capability of grabbing the listener and not letting go...

5. Last Call - 11:10 Track #4 efforlessly blends into the grand finale of the album, which employs the exact same bass structure of track #1 for the first minute or so. Very long and winding, the song reminds me a bit of the latter section of the first track, but it's done in a much better and grand scope. LaBrie does most of the vocals here again, and should really be commended - they're great. It's really hard to describe the music fully, because it almost constantly changes, but one thing remains true throughout, and that's the chorus - incredibly catchy and melodic - "...Now wait here, can't you see - I just spelled out reality. It's no fun, but it's now or never...". The lyrics end the concept off as they talk about breaking the shackles of confinement (i.e. depression, etc.) and living your life fully in a positive way...". Great stuff, and an excellent ending to one hell of a prog disc.