Artist/ Band: Soniq Theater
Title: Sonig Theater
Label: Self release
Year of Release: 2000
Offical Artist/ Band Link

The Review:

After the dissolution of Rachel's Birthday, keyboardist/co-founder Alfred Mueller invoked his inner Wakemuse and embarked on an ongoing journey, one marked by signposts in the guise of Mueller's Soniq Theater albums. This debut reveals a diversified color wheel of sounds, tastes and influences, the latter readily discernible by the way Mueller compositionally wears them upon his proverbially sleeves. From the traditional gauges of EmoWakeBanks to the more recent refinements of ScheNolOrf and every keysmeister in-between, including the knob twiddlers of Mueller's home turf, the compositions here almost succeed in covering every facet of keyboard rock, save for the skies of fusion yonder: "Pandora's Box" sounds like a Vangelis-Eloy mashup, with Mueller doing his best programmed impersonation of Cozy Powell; the female chant of "Minka E Rano" is likely the result of an envisioned collaboration between Minimum Vital and Jane, with Arena-esque synth mojo.

What's most apparent is that qualitywise many of these tracks are better than those released on ST albums just a few years up the road. And with regard to most or all of the sixteen tracks here, with a band proper — live drums and guitar, at least — versus samples, Soniq Theater would have been a hot topic on the prog rock message boards right alongside the umpteenth thread about a ELP reunion. To date, all the ST releases are uniformly one-man affairs.

Music composed, performed, produced, recorded and mixed by Alfred Mueller

Reviewed by Elias Granillo Jr. on January 15th, 2012

[NOTE: This review reads the way it does because most of the tracks on the CDR won't play.]

Tracks:

01. Rondeo 5:44
02. Unicorn 3:46
03. Pandora’s Box 4:24
04. Minka e Rano 2:23
05. Excalibur 4:27
06. Jurassic Classic 2:34
07. The Power And The Glory 6:47
08. Tsunami 5:05
09. Palace Of Glass 2:19
10. Laughing Through My Tears 3:40
11. Leftoverture 1:02
12. Hydra 4:19
13. Crying Sky 4:04
14. The Riders Of Rohan 7:00
15. Cinemagic 6:17
16. Dans les Nuages 5:03

Reviewed Discography

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