Spaced Out: Spaced Out; (CD, 54:15) Unicorn Records, 2000 UNCR-5001 Cyberhome: http://www.unicornrecords.com/spacedout E-mail: antoinefafard@hotmail.com If you enjoy excessive loads of guitar doing plenty of fusion-based rocking out -- then you will dig this Canadian fusion-driven group's debut release. Bassist Antoine Fafard composes and arranges all the material and his bass work is pro all the way around. There is speed, unison line flurries, crunch, effective use of polyrhythms, and assorted ear-candy surprises. Soloing is tight, expressive in a novel way, leaning towards instrumental rock and then back to jazzy fusion in a balanced way. Too many times groups attempt fusion but are stuck in progressive rock ruts. Spaced Out avoids this pitfall. They maintain this reviewer's focus better than say, uh, that Dream "Cinema" outfit. Know what I mean? Spaced Out pulls off plenty of great fusion acrobatics with two excellent guitarists, a super bassist, killer drums, with very creative synth programming and nice keys. In fact, bassist Fafard is as good as Stu Hamm. Take my word or just listen to the song "Glassophere". Great debut! ~ John W. Patterson, EER-MUSIC.com
Spaced Out: Eponymus II; (CD, 53:25) Unicorn Records, 2001 UNCR-5003 Cyberhome: http://www.unicornrecords.com/spacedout E-mail: antoinefafard@hotmail.com Thankfully, Spaced Out is back! They are crunchier, meaner, more in- your-face and full of rage. Their energy levels are peaked. I heard bits of Lost Tribe and even the Zeuhl, Magmoid, weird-rockisms of Japan's Happy Family all on the first track in under three minutes. I am so digging this groove. As on their first release the bass is way cool fusion. All axes are sharp and it's up to three axes on this CD! Ooh baby. This is some frenetic fusion. There is a new denseness in each track, a heavier dirge yet the riffage is rampant fusion and near speed metal thrash in a few places. After the first three songs things ease up a bit but soon surge forward in full adrenalin fusion rock. Fusion and instrumental rock fans, grab this one! If you need a reference point, imagine Stu Hamm's Kings of Sleep or The Urge but with more interesting bass lines and much hipper guitar soloing. The unison lines are frequent and fly around like hornets in a cyclotronic rage. You dig jams and abandon? This one's for you. And there's even a sax soloing on the outro track. Amazing follow-up after their debut, whoa baby! ~ John W. Patterson, EER-MUSIC.com
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