Artist/ Band: The Gourishankar
Title: Close Grip
Label: Unicorn Digital
Year of Release: 2003/2008
Offical Artist/ Band Link

The Review:

The Gourishankar are a Russian modern progressive rock band which was formed in 2002 by guitarist Nomy Agranson, a small city in Syktyvkar near the Ural Mountains, In 2007, The Gourishankar signed up with Unicorn Digital, and released the album ‘2nd Hands’. This resulted in the re-release of the ‘Close Grip’ album, which was originally released in 2003. As part of the re-release, the band added "For Nobody", which is a Gentle Giant cover For this album, the band consisted of Nomy Agranson (guitars, basses, vocals), Doran Usher (keyboards), Vlad MJ Whiner - (vocals) and Cat Heady (drums)

I have had the pleasure of listening to and reviewing ‘2nd Hands‘ , of which I was impressed with. So when I received the ‘Close Grip‘ album, I was prepared, sound wise, for it. Even though they have a self released EP, which I haven’t heard, I can hear where the band started from, musically.

They’re influenced by both modern and classic progressive rock bands, mainly bands like Genesis, Porcupine Tree, Sylvan, IQ and Rush. Out of the eight tracks, there are three instrumental tracks, "Gripped by Fear", "In the Hope" and "Close to Death". The vocal tracks are flawless and are very English sounding in delivery.

There is not a track on this album that I didn’t like but if I were to pick a highlight, I’d have to say the epic song of the album, "Autumn Frost", which is almost 11+ minutes. It reminds me of a modern re-imagining of Hemispheres-era Rush, in both the guitar and vocals. It contains a classical sounding middle section, which adds an interesting twist.

Overall this is a modern progressive rock album and should be viewed as such. It’s one of the more enjoyable albums that doesn’t sound forced or have any filler. I will recommend this fans of ‘2nd Hands’ as well as the aforementioned bands.

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on February 3rd, 2009

Tracks:

01. Gripped by Fear (2:04)
02. Insomnia (7:28)
03. Sweet Earth (8:02)
04. In the Hope (2:17)
05. Wind of night (8:59)
06. Autumn Frost (10:57)
07. Close to Death (3:13)

Bonus Track:

08. For Nobody [Gentle Giant] (4:39)

Reviewed Discography

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