Ajalon is primarily a 3 piece progressive rock band that has some Christian themes throughout their lyrics. If that offends you, then I’d say proceed no further but you might be missing out on some of the most beautifully arranged prog music in recent times. In all honesty, the themes aren’t that strong and barely detract from the music. I would almost say the lyrics are spiritual and possibly universal but I’ll leave that for you to decide if you continue to read on.
On their second album, On The Threshold Of Eternity, the style of progressive music that Ajalon can be compared to is symphonic realm with some AOR parts spaciously put throughout the album. but more symphonic. They often remind me of Kansas, the better Yeswest and early Spock’s Beard sound. Their style fits in with other American symphonic prog bands, both current and of the past.
Ajalon is basically multi-instrumentalists Randy George (guitars, keys and bass) and Wil Henderson (bass, vocals). Rounding off the core is drummer/ percussionist Dan Lile. I had the privilege of briefly meeting Randy at The Musical Box show in Whittier. Adding to the trio are some guests such as Rick Wakeman and Neal Morse. Rick’s contribution was on "What Kind of Love", with a Minimoog solo and Neal’s was a vocal duet on the title track.
Speaking of the title track, it’s worth the price alone. The 16-minute epic is largely instrumental, and feature the afore mentioned vocal duet between Wil and Neal. While the other songs are very good, this one has to be my favorite track off the album. Another favorite track to me is the mystery song which turns out to be a cover of The Moody Blues song "You And Me", which I must confess I haven’t heard the original so there won’t be any comparisons. I’m sure some will think that track should have been left off or maybe put as a multi-media track but to me it helps to broaden their exposure outside of their respected fan base.
I have to recommend this album and band to fans of American based progressive rock and the afore mentioned bands. Depending on the individual, the Christian themes within the On The Threshold of Eternity will not be bothersome. Plus it’s nice to hear something uplifting especially in recent times.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on October 4th, 2005
