Belling The Tiger is a band from Detroit, USA that offers a Progressive Rock with Experimental traits born from an idea of Michael Allen Moore. Their album “Lost” was released on November 1, 2021 and contains 11 tracks including the title suite divided into 5 parts. “I Have No Heart” is a track that has the guitar and its solo cues at the center of the sound, supported by a rhythmic session with tempo changes and intricate bass lines. The vocal alternates solo parts with other layered parts, giving a melodic touch to the sound. “Insensate” begins with electronic keyboard sounds and a pulsating bass, with the development of the piece and the entry of all the instruments, however, I find the sound a little muffled. The vocal alternates solo parts with other choirs but in my humble opinion it is not very incisive and the sound set of the instruments in my humble opinion does not enhance the ideas of the band. A positive aspect is the guitar solo that opens the second part, improving the sound quality the track would still be valid. “Larger Concern” has a more powerful beginning with massive and aggressive guitar riffs, a tempo change with highlighted keyboards softens and creates an atmospheric undertone. the keyboard melodies are hardly distinguishable in the background, disappearing at the entrance of the instruments, the voice exceeds the music in volume and the guitar and bass take the stage. Here too the ideas would be interesting with tempo changes and an elaborate structure in continuous change, but I find the sounds a little muffled and at times distant and not very amalgamated. A solid rhythmic session and dark and aggressive intertwining between guitars and keyboards open “Bleak” which presents, as in the previous ones, a sonic ensemble that does not enhance the good ideas in the composition phase. Good would be the passage that slows down the song with oriental influences, but failing to express their full potential. In the guitar solo sections where we find only bass drum support the sound is cleaner and more powerful with a good individual technique that is lost with the entry of the keyboards and vocals. “Mental Blindness” is a track with percussion and acoustic guitar and a deep bass, here the sound is a bit cleaner and clearer than the previous ones. The vocal is warm and expressive and the piece alternates good instrumental sections with good sung parts, an emotional and well-developed track. In the final solo the sounds in my humble opinion are a bit unrelated, but this aspect can be improved. Here we come to the first part of the suite that gives the title to the album “Lost p. 1” which begins with a powerful drum and hard guitar riffs, supported by dark keyboard melodies. At times the sound is cleaner than in others, losing intensity, as always the ideas are interesting and the track well developed. The guitar offers good cues and the bass lines are intricate and carrying, the keyboards are too distant and disappear at a certain point in the song. The second part “Lost p. 2” joins the previous one with atmospheric and effect sounds, giving life to a softer section of the suite with more minimal sounds. “Lost p. 3” is a more experimental section with atmospheric sounds and effected voices, where however the drum at its entrance dominates the other sounds together with the more operistic vocal. The fourth section “Lost p. 4” the melody of the previous evolve a more rock rhythmic session on the electric guitar with a well-made vocal vocal. In this passage, that the sounds are at times cleaner, it is possible to better appreciate their musical ideas. The suite closes the last section “Lost p. 5” which begins with atmospheric sounds and voice, and then with a tempo change increase the intensity with a dose of Rock. The riffs are massive, interesting in the background the keyboards which however are completely covered by the rest of the instruments, would certainly have added brilliance to the piece. “Shine On” is the last track of the album, a Rock ballad with cheerful lyrics and melodies that alternate with more melodic and soft parts. More in the form of a ‘song’, it closes the album with joy and positive energy. A record that contains interesting ideas and ideas but which in some passages loses incisiveness, tempo changes and solos would be an added value. Improving the sound performance of the disc could be much more interesting, as the compositions have some well-elaborated passages.
Tracklist
01. I Have No Heart (04:56)
02. Insensate (06:40)
03. Larger Concern (05:52)
04. Bleak (06:31)
05. Mental Blindness (07:14)
06. Lost p. 1 (03:44)
07. Lost p. 2 (05:44)
08. Lost p. 3 (02:06)
09. Lost p. 4 (02:34)
10. Lost p. 5 (04:12)
11. Shine On (04:19)
Lineup
Danny Grimm / Vocals
Duane Harvey / Drums, Electronics Drums, Percussion and Backup Vocals
Andrew Harvey / Bass Guitar and Backup Vocals
Michael Johnstone / Auxiliary Guitar and Keyboards
Michael Allen Moore / Guitars, Keyboards, Mandolin and Vocals
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