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"Ascend" Review Featured In Guitar 2001 Magazine, Summer, 2001
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Greg Howe
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Review of "Ascend"
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By: Terry Wickham
reg Howe has such awesome control of the instrument, you can't help but floored when listening to the massive runs he shreds out in "Unlocked". Not only does he play with such a high degree of fluidity and speed, but also he has great tone. Howe follows keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij's lead in "Tales Told". Drummer Jon Doman has to keep up with those two monster players, which is certainly difficult. "Garden Of Harmony" is driven by a '70s type progressive keyboard sound and hyperactive drums. Howe does a darn good job of playing bass on the whole album, especially in this song, which he coordinates with Doman. Jon Doman lays down a fast and furious pace in "Abrupt Terminal", which Howe and Kuprij gladly run with. It's like a sprint to the preverbal finish line. The song really kicks when Doman switches to slower time and the music gets heavier. Howe remakes the Rush tune "La Villa Strangiato". The slow down, quiet area of the song is where Howe makes his guitar cry out in almost violin fashion and then picks out a blaze of notes that burn. Acoustic guitar ushers in a progressive hard rock track "Maniacal" which has Howe and Kuprij flying off the handle. Doman's drum work in this track is strong. "Her Dance" is a harmless little classical piece done on keyboard. "Full Throttle" has a George Lynch feel as Howe establishes a heavy blues rhythm and then throws leads on top of it.
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©
Terry Wickham / Guitar 2001 Magazine
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