If you’re into prog, chances are you already know plenty about Spock’s Beard, and if you’re not into it, then stop reading and pick another review. Embracing the brighter side of the world’s most ambitious/pretentious genre, ‘X’ is the LA band’s tenth studio album, their fourth since the departure of original vocalist Neal Morse, and it’s every bit as grandiose and musically exceptional as you might expect. While the cheese factor can be rather overbearing at points, particularly during ‘Emperor’s Clothes’ with its blaring horns and seventies pop melodies, ‘X’ should satisfy those Beard fiends who’ve been clamouring for a follow up over the last four years.
To give a brief overview, expect riffs aplenty, labyrinthine song structures, lengthy solos (of both the guitar and keyboard variety), and, surprise surprise, some really enjoyable, fun tunes. The likes of ‘Edge Of The In-Between’ and ‘From The Darkness’ feature running times that any self respecting bunch of beardy musicians would aspire to, but Spock’s Beard have the compositional skill to make them work, ensuring that an easily digestible melody or a sizeable, stomping riff is never too far around the corner. Closer ‘Jaws Of Heaven’ is epic in tone and duration, and as such is a brilliant way to round off ‘X’… If you prefer Marillion and Yes to, say, Opeth, then this is a record for you: classic, well crafted symphonic prog from some true legends of the genre.
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