The Reasoning

Not content with having two excellent guitarists in Dylan Thompson and Lee Wright, on this – the band’s debut release – iconic Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery is wheeled out to provide a guitar solo on closing track ‘Within Cold Glass’. Indeed, when I saw the band play live for the first time in early March, he did exactly the same when this song was performed (perhaps confusingly) as the encore! There’s nothing like presenting a tasty cake and then apparently adding the icing as an afterthought! (Liz Prendergast from Blue Horses who provides violin and mandolin on this dramatic and haunting song did not also appear on the night).

To continue the analogy, as cakes go this one has a wonderful recipe! Not just two superb guitarists, but three great vocalists – the aforementioned Dylan Thompson, keyboardist Gareth Jones and (the trump card!) former Karnataka front lady Rachel Jones. You don’t need to be a clairvoyant to realise that the vocal textures, harmonies and leads are potentially an explosive and beguiling mixture – and I can assure you they are just that. The personnel is completed by accomplished drummer Vinden Wylde and (catalyst of the bands very existence) former Magenta bassist Matthew Cohen.

Most bands would surely give their eye teeth to release a debut album with the sound quality and production values of ‘Awakening’. Produced, recorded and engineered by Matthew Cohen and mastered with the help of Lee Wright, only the mixing stage was handled externally; a hugely notable accomplishment. The performances show a band with members who have gelled together very quickly and who appear (from the live set that I witnessed) to be relishing their new opportunities. I have already alluded to the vocal mixture and every track and every fresh listen of every track reveals nuances and pleasures in this department and the musical arrangements are equally as persuasive and impressive.

The album comprises eight songs that are really quite diverse in nature and intertwine a huge variety of ingredients, including psychedelic, celtic, gothic, progressive and (at times) heavy rock elements and reference points. I feel that this variety in some respects helps to insinuate the compelling nature of the album after multiple listens. Their writing has been very much a collaborative effort, with the final form evolving from cumulative input over time, and if there is a change that I would anticipate for the band’s next release, it will be – perhaps – a more cohesive set of songs from a team of experienced and imaginative writers working together from their inception.

However, for now this magical release will do just fine. Give a listen to the album’s title track that appears on the sampler accompanying this magazine; it is an exquisite introduction to the treats in store when you make a purchase! I’m quite sure many of you will want to…

Paul Jerome Smith
- Fireworks Magazine

Have we not been here before? A new prog band and with a debut album and Marillion’s Steve Rothery making a guest appearance. I think so and yet again the package is a splendid piece of work with all the drama allowed within the progressive rock genre.

It had to be something special with former elements of Karnataka and Magenta part of the framework. The difference this time being that lead vocals are being shred by former CRS Female Vocalist of the Year (and who knows?), Rachel Jones, Dylan Thompson and Gareth Jones. With six members of the band including two guitars and keyboards with the multi-vocals, the sound is rich and with some depth.

The intentions are made clear from the beginning of the opening and title track, with atmosphere created by keyboards and some driving guitar riffs. The three voices work really well together giving the impression of a rock opera with each voice playing a part. Much to admire, a breath of fresh air and certain to be popular among readers of this magazine and worthy of some air play too.

Reviewed by Martin Hudson
- Classic Rock Society

From the first notes on this CD, I already felt it. This is one of the bands that you want to see on stage, of which you are eagerly waiting their next release. Or in a nutshell, a new name in my favourite bands list. A glance at the names of the musicians explains the reason for this instant appeal. Founding member Matthew Cohen used to play the bass guitar in Magenta and Rachel Jones was lead singer of Karnataka.

The most important asset of the band is the vocal line-up. Some bands are having trouble finding one good vocalist but The Reasoning found three of them. And they are using these three vocals almost all of the time, sometimes as a little choir but very often singing different vocal lines interwoven into each other. You can admire this already in the first song “Awakening”, my personal favourite. Every musician plays an awesome part in this music. It’s progressive rock with a wink to the past, but they certainly add their own sound to it.

In this style of music, the lyrics always play an important part, so it’s a shame they are not in the booklet, although the rest of the artwork isn’t bad at all.

Steve Rothery of Marillion is playing a great solo in the last track “With Cold Glass”. It certainly lifts the song to a higher level, although I think Dylan or Les could have played a solo like that, judging from the solos they play during the other tracks. But of course, a name like Rothery looks good on the album cover. ;-)

It all sounds very progressive especially the complete sound, although there’s no variation in the rhythm, once a song starts in a certain rhythm, it stays the same till the end. So that might withhold some progressive fans. But if you like Magenta and Karnataka or if you like progressive music with lots of splendid vocals, then you should try this out.

Reviewed by – Danny

Rating – 9/10

- Prog Nose - Belgium