Kinetic Element "The Face of Life"

Greetings from the tundra fellow progheads!  Regardless of where you call home, the groundhog fooled us all this year.  Fortunately the Concert Closet is heated and quite comfortable...and currently following a GPS guided search for all things prog across these United States...

Being always on the lookout for the next big thing, I discovered the new release from Kinetic Element, "The Face of Life." This album literally just hit the streets and I am excited to give it a listen.  While the roots of the band are in the cozy hills of Virginia, their guitarist laid his tracks down from sunny California (more on that later).  So join me as we partake of the latest from this neo/symphonic prog rock band...

Dropping the laser on the start of the disc leads me right into "Epistle." The song opens so quickly you feel like you missed the first two minutes; the symphonic aspects come right at you.  There are top notes of Yes and Genesis roaming freely through the entire cut as guitar work provides a perfect platform from which the vocals leap into the headphones, permeate the veil, and reverberate through your head.  It would be easy to say Kinetic Element paints the canvas with loud colorful strokes--but would it be totally accurate?  This is a band that cuts a wide swath across the prog garden every time out.  Let this one pour down on you like a sudden rain storm in July...
 

Moving the laser farther along the CD I discover "All Open Eyes" and once again Kinetic Element bursts through the gate with gusto.  Keyboards and guitars lead you down a brightly lit path toward musical bliss.  There are aromatics of Gentle Giant and Camel wafting across the room and swirling about your cranium, the music a siren luring you across the prog garden.

Much like the Genesis masterpiece " Supper's Ready," this song goes through time, tempo, and mood changes the way Pete Townsend goes through guitars.  Kinetic Element shows off their ability to be ornate without being pretentious; the headphones burst with energy as the music flows through your entire being.

Liner Notes...Kinetic Element is based in Richmond VA and the line-up on this album is Saint John Coleman on vocals, Mike Visaggio on piano, organ, and synthesizers, Pete Matuchniak on guitars, Mark Tupko on bass, and Michael Murray on drums.  Pete, no stranger to the Concert Closet, laid his guitar tracks down from the the warm confines of Irvine CA, hence the need to travel coast-to-coast for this leg of the journey.  Mr. Matuchniak has traveled many a lap around the prog garden; Kinetic Element is a fine feather in a well worn cap...

Kinetic Element came into existence in 2006 to perform Mike Visaggio's solo work "Starship Universe" at the Pop Montreal festival that year.  The band signed to Melodic Revolution Records in 2013 and continued their upward trajectory.  Many miles, festivals, headliners, and a few line-up changes since that time led to "The Face of Light," the third album in their catalog.

My last choice for review from what truly is a tantalizing music buffet is "Last Words."  A softer opening than previous, this song floats gently across your auditory sensors and wraps itself around your soul. Vocals and keyboards take center stage on this cut, flowing as smoothly as melted chocolate down the side of a New York cheesecake.  There is an Asia/Yes vibe here as I sense Mike alternately channeling Rick Wakeman and Geoff Downes while pouring his all into those ivories...

Learn more about Kinetic Element at their website Kinetic Element.  You will find links there to purchase this album and all the band's music.  You can also wander behind the curtain at their

Facebook page and Twitter @kineticelement.

I chose "The Face of Life" as your weekly teaser for two reasons.  First, I am always intrigued by title cuts; they usually convey the main focus or message the album is attempting to convey. Second, it's just a beautiful piece of music.  Everyone gets to "strut their stuff" on this song as Kinetic Element waltzes across the prog garden with heads held high, and justifiably so.  The band's ability to channel early Genesis once again shines through as time changes, mood swings, and a liquid tempo will leave you wanting more--even after nineteen minutes plus!  I pick up aromatics of The Strawbs and Gentle Giant simmering under the surface as well.  There is so much here but nothing makes you feel overwhelmed; just sated.  Taking a journey across one's life should be this complex and yet this simple.  "The Face of Life" will remind you of why you got into prog in the first place...

                   

And just like that the flame is extinguished as the candle burns down...melted wax pooling in your mind as the music fades.  Kinetic Element is a band that is very comfortable wearing the symphonic prog moniker--and they wear it well.  To be able to come across as ornate without drowning themselves out, all the while packing so much strength and emotion into five songs that carry you away for about sixty minutes of utopia...just another reason to stay in the prog garden a good long time, thank you very much...

Never forget what brought you here and keeps you coming back...the search for all things prog can be a wondrous journey indeed...until next time...