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| Amaran's Plight - Voice in the Light |
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Artist: Amaran's Plight
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Type: Audio CD [ View other products of this type ]
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Voice in the Light is the debut release from the powerhouse Symphonic Prog-metal band Amaran’s Plight. The clever and inventive writing skills of Gary Wehrkamp and DC Cooper are evident with the many memorable melodies, riffs and chops as well as mind numbing instrumentals and solos. The impressive rhythm section of Nick D’Virgilio and Kurt Barabas complete the circle with rock solid drumming and bass work.
The band worked hard in 2006 to create a Progressive album of epic proportion. The conceptual piece hosts memorable songs that fit the emotion and situation of the concept thus creating a classic album that many will be talking about for years to come. The concept was developed by writer, John W. Crawford who also contributed as musical director and lyricist. The concept is a look at one man’s search for answers following a Near Death Experience.
Key tracks include the haunting, Incident at Haldeman’s Lake, Revelation and the 14 minute epic, Shattered Dreams. The CD clocks in at 76 minutes and contains 13 tracks.
Voice in the Light was Produced and recorded by Gary Wehrkamp. |
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Audio samples:
 01. Room 316
02. Friends Forever
03. Coming of Age
04. Incident at Haldemans Lake
05. Reflections Part I
06. I Promise You
07. Consummation Opus
08. Truth and Tragedy
09. Shattered Dreams
10. Viper
11. Betrayed by Love
12. Turning Point
13. Revelation
Promotional video
Album reviews:
German review
Read full story at http://www.bloodchamber.de/cd/a/5127/
Italian review
Read full story at http://www.babylonmagazine.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2701&Itemid=0
French review
Read full story at http://www.progressive-area.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=2
Interview (both German and English)
Read full story at http://www.heavyhardes.de/interview-290.html
...This cd is more atmosphere, vibe and creativity, apart from the Neo-Classical expressions one would hear from Shadow Gallery, Wehrkamps' other band. So Amaran's Plight indeed has it's own identity, everything sounds very solid on this cd, the recordings are pristine, with each instrument getting clear production, and the vocals majestically mixed. Nice to hear DiVirgilio playing his drums, his kit and playing sounds fantastic on this cd, perhaps the best I have heard him, this music seems to bring his best out of him. Interesting that the would enlist the bass duties of Kurt Barabas, his work with Under the Sun is good, but that band has not really been active for a few years, regardless, he is a solid choice for this group, and his statement on this cd is quite complimentary to the rest of the musicians...
Read full story at http://www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBCDInfo.asp?txtCDID=21715
Audio interview with DC Cooper
Read full story at http://www.hardrockhaven.net/interviews2007/dccooper07.php
German review
Read full story at http://www.heavyhardes.de/review-3259.html
...When you look at the various members names, you will notice that almost everyone of them has been in an influential early 90’s ProgRock band so it won’t come as a surprise that a large section of the music has that typical East Coast 90’s progsound. Mix this with some later 70’s passages and you have a pretty clear overview of what to expect. Since the story is filled with all types of happenings, grave emotions and life changing experiences, the music is also very serious and intense. Just listen to the epic “Shattered Dreams” or “Revelation” and you can’t deny that this doesn’t grab you. There is however also a bit of room for lighter music like the very poppy “I promise you” or “Friends Forever”. By changing a few times between the various styles, the albums stays fresh and interesting to listen to. Not that this is a problem because when you look at the enormous pool of talent that is present, but still some variation is offered, so that’s always good. Additionally, the story is told by various voice-overs in between the music to give the characters some more personality or by just introducing them into the story. As a last, I enjoyed hearing D.C. Cooper again. After he left Royal Hunt, I lost track of him but it was god to hear him again. The man still has that versatile voice that can go all directions and that’s just what this album needs...
Read full story at http://www.vampire-magazine.com/article.php?aid=43896
Spanish review
Read full story at http://manticornio.com/rock-progresivo/A/AMARAN_S-PLIGHT/voice-in-the-light.html
German review
Read full story at http://www.evilized.de/cms/content/view/2942/41/
Interview with Gary and Kurt
Read full story at http://usaprogmusic.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=96&Itemid=45
...I'd say this is entirely a concept album whose integrity is obvious on all levels, not only in its lyrics. The thirteen tracks here, while ranging in duration, progressiveness and style all alike, all work as parts of the same creation with a genuinely epic magnitude. Besides, the pieces are so well intermixed that none seems to be superfluous, although admittedly one of them is a mediocrity. It would be wrong to assert that Amaran's Plight are strongly influenced by Shadow Gallery, but since Gary Wehrkamp not only serves as the group's principal songwriter, but is also the main driving force in the recording's soloing department, playing all guitars and keyboards, the comparisons with his primary band are often inevitable (which in this particular case just gladdens me, as I like Shadow Gallery better than any of the other outfits represented)...
Read full story at http://www.progressor.net/review/amarans_plight_2007.html
German review
Read full story at http://www.squealer-rocks.de/cdreview.php?var=1136
...“Voice In The Light” is a melodic progressive rockers dream. It has everything with its mysterious storyline, virtuoso musicianship and marvellous songs. It also sounds sonically fantastic. Without a doubt this is an album that will keep rewarding with every listen and for this reviewer it joins my shortlist for one of the top ten albums of the year. I urge anyone who loves melodic rock from bands like Queen, Styx, Rainbow and Journey but also likes the progressive rock of bands like Kansas, Rush, Queensryche and Spock’s beard to seek out this record.
Read full story at http://www.hardrockhouse.com/NewReleases/AmaransPlight.htm
German review
Read full story at http://www.powermetal.de/cdreview/review-10288.html
...Stylistically the music on Amaran’s Plight is what you could easily call heavy-symphonic. The guitar is clearly up front with keyboards performing the background and support role of adding texture. Much of the music is loaded with aggressive crescendos, soaring vocal passages, delicate synthesizer transitions and cascading guitar runs. Overall the music is quite charged with intensity. That said, where the story demands some telling the band aren’t afraid to bring in a solo piano or acoustic guitar to build the mood and provide some sonic relief. With just under 80-minutes of music here, there’s lot’s of room to work in a myriad of feels. And throughout there are many good hooks and some rather melodic pieces. A song like “I Promise You” sounds radio ready with its amazingly catchy melody. These compositions are sprinkled in amongst some longer works, three of them being over 10-minutes. These are the pieces where the mood and drama of the story are most obvious. Together with some shorter transition pieces everything here creates a kind of soundtrack aspect to the concept behind Voice of Light. And even here there are some great melodies and themes at work. Huge anthemic qualities are used to convey a sense of emotion as in “Consummation Opus.”..
Read full story at http://www.jerrylucky.com/jerrylucky_029.htm
Audio interviews with DC Cooper and also Gary Wehrkamp
Read full story at http://www.usaprogmusic.com/mp3/audiointerviews.html
Starting this review in a very unorthodox way, I really don't know who I should thank first for this magnificent progressive rock, concept album and one of the best albums I've heard so far in 2007. Should it be Shawn Gordon and the exceptional work he's doing with ProgRock records, grimly refusing to give up the fight he's started for progressive music's universal establishment by constantly digging up talented bands out of the blue? Or should it be John W. Crawford, for setting the lyrical basis, since "Voices in the Light" is based on a novel by him, talking about a man's life and his near death experience that changed his life and way of dealing with things? Far more, John worked as a lyricist and executive producer and he's done a great job, without doubt...
Read full story at http://www.metalperspective.com/reviews/amarans_plight.php
Dutch review
Read full story at http://www.progwereld.org/cd-recensies/amaransplight.htm
...Recorded last year at six different studios with the help of additional musicians such as Michael Sadler and Trishia O’Keefe, “Voice In The Light” is one of the best conceptual progressive rock albums I’ve had the pleasure to listen to in quite some time. The storyline is captivating, the 13 (!) songs are memorable and the execution and production (courtesy of Wehrkamp) are fingerlickin’ good. Although you have to listen to this masterpiece as a whole, it’s the longer tracks that really show how strong this band is. “Incident At Haldeman’s Lake” (11:28), “Shattered Drams” (13:24) and “Revelation” (13:10) are all stunning to say the least.
This album arrived while I was away on vacation to the sun-drenched Tuscany and since my homecoming it hasn’t hardly left my CD player. That alone gives away how good it actually is. Absolutely recommended!!!
Read full story at http://www.rockreport.be/review.asp?id=1772
...The music varies from the hugely melodic Friends Forever through to the tension filled instrumental breaks in Incident at Haldemans Lake to the emotional Reflections Part I. All musicians are more than able and they all shine throughout the album, in particular D C Cooper and Gary Wehrkamp. That said, others will have their own personal favourites. Expect to hear a lot of guitar which is all good, no surprises there! The singing is perfect and there are plenty of instrumental sections...
Read full story at http://www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBCDInfo.asp?txtCDID=21715
German review
Read full story at http://www.rocktimes.de/gesamt/a/amarans_plight/voice_in_the_light.html
...D.C.Cooper has always been one of the industry's better singers, and his performance on Royal Hunt's Paradox remains one of the strongest examples of metal vocals in the past generation. This record benefits from his powerful singing and excellent control, but although he's very good technically, the delivery is also emotion-laden and easily draws you into the story.
Besides the vocals, the most obvious contributions are from Gary Wehrkamp. His rich guitar voicings and fluid fretwork are pleasing and he shifts seamlessly from electric to acoustic and back. And his keyboard work - particularly the elegant piano lines - contribute a sophisticated layer to the music. Wehrkamp also claims much of the music writing credit, so guess what band this music most closely resembles? Although it was interesting to note that Voice In The Light probably outshines the latest Shadow Gallery release. Think of this as symphonic progressive metal - although the 'metal' label is a bit of a stretch, perhaps 'hard-rock' would be a better description. The musicianship and songwriting are particularly strong and each song has richly textured sounds with multi part choruses and anthemic melodies giving it an almost AOR tone in places. There's a rock-operatic effect that again recalls Shadow Gallery's best albums, and gives credence to the story line...
Read full story at http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=5401
... The album totally rocks instrumentally, and when I looked to see who wrote the music, it was none other than Gary Wehrkamp, so it was not a big surprise that the music was well-written. The intro guitar shredding in the first song, “316” is like …’heck yeah, bring it on!!’ What a way to start the album! But when you get a “supergroup” of musicians together, I hope in the future it is not as much of an emotionally draining story as this one.
Yet I did feel the passion behind these songs, sort of like when I listen to Shadow Gallery. It makes you want to get up on top of a mountain and sing on the top of your lungs along with the songs. D.C. Cooper sings with all his heart and the rest of the musicians give it their all with one punch after another. This album is so comparable with Shadow Gallery’s strong instrumentation, harmonization, and climatic moments. It truly has some great instrumental pieces to it that will wow you to tears...
Read full story at http://usaprogmusic.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_simple_review&Itemid=28&review=40-Amaran-s-Plight-Voice-in-the-Light
...The record itself has a massive cinematic feel to it; so yes, it is a hardcore concept record, and there is no doubt about that. The sound is cast along the lines of Arena, Rocket Scientists, & Morse-era Spock’s Beard, being in line of current Floydian ‘third wave’ progressive rock, with a balance of symphonic and heavy overtones. The record itself, like many concept records opens up with the Rising Force-ish “Room 316” overture, which immediately leads into the more eased back, nearly A/C “Friends Forever;” but nevertheless, the tone for the record has been set – you can tell we are being led into something here.
Within the ‘rock opera’ you have the driving tracks such as “Coming of Age” & “Viper” the eerie extended piece titled “Incident at Haldeman’s Lake,” sub-symphonic numbers like “Betrayed by Love” & “Turning Point,” and even balladry with “I Promise You” & “Revelation,” so the storyline flows accordingly with the music, and vice-versa...
Read full story at http://www.ytsejam.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1250
...What more can you say about the vocals of D.C. Cooper? This guy is a consumate pro, and fans of his years with Royal Hunt and his current band Silent Force know that the singer is not just a progressive metal/hard rock vocalist, but he also can deliver plenty of emotion and passion when needed. His duet with guest singer Trishia O'Keefe on "I Promise You" is gorgeous stuff, and his stirring performance on "Coming of Age" and the epic "Incident at Haldemans Lake" is nothing short of inspiring. While there's plenty of exciting musical outbursts on Voice In The Light, like on the atmospheric instrumental "Consummation Opus", and the CD's other two magnum opuses "Shattered Dreams" (featuring a hot middle section with all players really digging in hard) and "Revelation", both really show the proggy side to the band, but it's not all about chops here. There are some heavy moments as well, like the venemous metal on "Viper", with Cooper really letting it all hang out amidst crunchy riffs from Wehrkamp, and the complex "Turning Point", which sees Barabas and D'Virgilio really working overtime.
The verdict: This is a highly enjoyable concept album from a prog rock supergroup that really lives up to all the hype and expectations. Now let's see if this can blossom into something more than a one-off affair, as I'm sure we'd all love to see Amaran's Plight take this show on the road or perform Voice In The Light at one of the major progressive rock festivals. Now that would be something to look forward to.
Read full story at http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=5401
...Musically we hear Shadow Gallery combined with a small touch of Pink Floyd and thanks to DC's voice also his fellow bands and while I can't say I hear anything revolutionary new, I still think this is some of the better symphonic progressive music I've heard in a quite a while. Take a listen to "Betrayed by Love", which is a majestic progressive giant, or the epic closer "Revelation" and you will know how great this is. Some other great moments are the Pink Floydish "Consummation Opus", which has a cool atmosphere built around it...
Read full story at http://www.victoryzine.com/review.php?id=704
Italian review
Read full story at http://www.truemetal.it/reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=5827
A collection of 14 video logs from the recording sessions
Read full story at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=smga3000
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