Instrumentally Ring of Myth sounds like a hybrid of Yes, Gentle Giant and Rush. The vocals often switch between sounding like Jon Anderson and Geddy Lee. Sometimes within the same song but never in one mode long enough to be pigeon-holed as a clone. The guitars tread the Howe and Lifeson styles while adding some hints of Gentle Giant’s odd instrumental measures.
Ring of Myth is a three piece band, consisting of Danny Flores (vocals, bass, keyboards and guitar), George Picado - (guitar) and Scott Rader (drums, percussion, keyboards and backup vocals). But these guys sound like a quintet at times with the fullness of the sound. A brief history lesson of the band’s origins trace back to the early '90's in Southern California where Danny Flores went looking for progressive musicians with similar interests to his own.
Now 15 years have passed and the band has two albums to their credit, to my knowledge, Unbound and their latest release Weeds. I have yet to hear Unbound so the obvious comparisons won’t be present. I will however comment on how well the band adds a modern edge to a retro based sound.
The flow of Weeds is such that you will enjoy it from beginning to end in one sitting, every time you play it. At least for me it is. It should be mentioned that on Weeds they have their share of epics such as"Offering", "Blue Stem" and "Half Wing". On the plus side none of the songs here were thrown in for filler purposes.
Several listens later I would say that Weeds is an important modern progressive rock album that will cater to old and new fans alike. Especially the afore mentioned bands as well as King Crimson, Genesis and any of the harder rocking prog bands of the 70's. One of the best of 2005!
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on October 25th, 2005
