TRANSATLANTIC — SMPTe (review)

TRANSATLANTIC — SMPTe album cover Album · 2000 · Metal Related Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Warthur
Are Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy the two closest BFFs in modern prog rock? It seems likely; after all, when Morse shocked the prog world by leaving Spock's Beard after Snow, it would be Portnoy who'd become one of most his most regular collaborators, appearing on a slew of his post-Beard projects (both solo and in side groups like Flying Colors and Yellow Matter Custard).

Before all that went down, however, Morse and Portnoy put together Transatlantic - recruiting Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings after Jim Matheos of Fates Warning couldn't participate and filling out the lineup with Marillion's Pete Trewavas. With Morse still in Spock's Beard at this point and Portnoy a good decade or so away from leaving Dream Theater, the band represented a true supergroup of modern prog, and expectations were high of their first album.

That said, don't go into this setting those expectations too high, or hoping for something with significant doses of, say, the prog metal of Dream Theater or the indie rock-influenced modernised prog sound that Marillion were exploring at the era (or, for that matter, a throwback to Fish-era Marillion). The centre of gravity of the band's sound at this point in time was very much skewed towards the approach of Spock's Beard, with perhaps a healthy pinch of The Flower Kings.

A big part of this comes down to the fact that there's a strong 1960s influence underpinning some of what's going on here - the album ends on a cover of a Procol Harum epic, after all - which both Spock's Beard and The Flower Kings had also been incorporating into their music. Between that and the way Neal Morse and Stolt take point on lead vocals, and the use of vocal harmonies in particular, the parallels are rather prominent, and without the sort of jazzier or more Zappa-esque detours which the Flower Kings take, the balance of the album's sound leans somewhat in a Spock's Beard direction.

Perhaps this was to be expected - the group were still feeling things out. In the long run, Transatlantic would prove to be more than a one-off flash in the pan and develop their sound further from this early pass. The album is a solid start from the project, but they don't yet have an identity distinct from Spock's Beard, and some listeners might be thrown by that, especially anyone who was hoping for more Dream Theater or Marillion-ish moments.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed