***** Emergent by Gordian Knot – Obscure But Awesome

It should be no surprise that this album is tremendous.  Look at the names of the players.  They are the names most progressive rockers should know.  For example, Jim Matheos (Fates Warning, OSI) plays on this one.  If you want a really good album by him, pick up either this one (Emergent) or Office of Strategic Influence by OSI.  Fates Warning also has some darned good albums.  Also, I recognize the name Bill Bruford, a guru on his instrument, (King Crimson) who plays on Emergent.

Apparently this incarnation of Gordian Knot has all the original members of Cynic.  I remember listening to Cynic at college and not finding the music to be that great.  However, my tastes have changed radically since college, so that doesn’t mean anything.  Cynic was at one time considered one of the best progressive heavy metal bands, along with bands like Fates Warning.  However, over time so far as I know Cynic has fallen into obscurity.  I never hear anyone talking about the new Cynic album, or if Cynic is going on tour.
Really, it is a shame that Gordian Knot’s Emergent didn’t take off.  To date the band has 2 albums, the first of which had John Myung on it.  Apparently, John Myung’s name was not enough to carry this band to a level where they might play small clubs.  Gordian Knot is essentially unknown.  The world is upside down.  Most musicians in popular bands deserve to bow before these musicians.

*** Chasing Time by Fates Warning – Don’t Like The First Few Tracks? That’s okay! Listen on.

Fates Warning has been ruminating around for decades as a lesser progressive rock/metal band.  In that sense, that are much like King’s X.  Today that means they could open for an arena rock bank, but that they probably aren’t popular to tour enough by themselves, especially not arenas. 

Chasing Time doesn’t really get moving until track 4.  Many of their riffs are atonal, and do not mix well with the vocals.  Frankly, sometimes  it sounds to me like their guitarist had no material ready for the album so he just steps on the distortion pedal and precedes to first thing that comes to mind, rather than crafting a song.  Later in their career, however, that changed.