ARC OF ASCENT (Circle Of The Sun) CD
Craig Williamson is back with a new band, and everyone who knows his previous groups (Datura, Lamp Of The Universe) will know that this guy represents the psychedelic musical heart of New Zealand. The results of his work are outstanding and once again he demonstrates with ARC OF ASCENT that he's still full of creative energy. 'Circle Of The Sun' is the debut of his new band which has been released in 2010 by Astral Projection. Not only the cover art is extremely tasteful but also the six songs. That's heavy-weight space rock, offering perfect beauty. Even tough ARC OF ASCENT quote Hawkwind, they're always able to give their songs a distinctive profile.
The songs are based on riffs as large as Darth Vader's Death Star while Craig Williamson's clear vocals match perfectly. I really like the casual and relaxed timbre of his voice. The songs are slow to mid-paced, with a few occasional metallic undertones. Here and there, other instruments like a sitar are being brought into the songs to increase the psychedelic elements in the riff-driven soundscape of ARC OF ASCENT. The opening giant riffs to 'Universal Form' is a bold introduction to 'Circle Of The Sun' and I guarantee that it will not deteriorate over the next 45 minutes. The music is hypnotizing and doesn't lose the necessary bite. Here, we do not have some lame flower power nonsense.
ARC OF ASCENT have enough power to outclass almost every other band of this genre with exception of the musical forefathers. Although Craig Williamson had written and produced all songs, we should not forget the magnificent skills of guitarist Matt Cole-Baker and drummer John Strange. Indeed, that is a real power trio. This is an album I've been waiting for a long time. In conclusion I would like to emphasise that 'Circle Of The Sun' will appeal to fans of riff-centric space rock who prefer a very heavy trance-like trip. Awesome album.
(KK)