Posted: July 26, 2010 at 11:22 am
Link to article
Here is the review via Google translator (original text below):
Proximaldistance is based on cooperation among musicians Jeff Hamel and John Gregg. It says most people may not so much, but when we mention our bands Slychosis and Majestic is possibly someone that it rings a bell to. Well, John is from the Canadian ensemble Slychosis, while Hamel from Majestic. Both plays numerous instruments and are driving forces in their respective bands, and these bands makes the usual pretty good prog alloy music. The music is classical prog with certain sensors to space rock with some innsmett of disharmonious notes that freshens up the whole. Apart from certain influences to the Majestic and Slychosis his music influences worth mentioning in bands like Pink Floyd, Saga, King Crimson, Genesis and Yes. The music on this debut alternates between atmospheric parties and parties with really full of gas and fine intensity. Intense instrumental sections alternate with vocal parts which include the fine vocals of Jessica Rasch let him hear. The epic song “Gupsy” can be definitely hear, and our “friend” Jessica Rasch make an effort and colors sounded superb here. Keyboards are often in a space mode, and guitar lines are something that can best be described as gorgeous, playful and beautiful. We hensettes to 60 and 70 the number of the fine alloy psychedelic song “Flash Back To Now (A Hippy’s Lament)”. Jessica Rasch’s voice and acoustic guitars and dreamy keyboards are the main ingredients in the beautiful and exciting “Fall Leaves”. Also “Algol” recently mentioned type keyboard first, but eventually convert the song to dirty music. The music can best be described as a heavy prog, and the bass and guitar encourages scene with pretty intense game play before the song calms down and flows into the “The Shaman”. A “flow” that makes these two songs almost make a musical symbiosis and in any case hang naturally together. “The Shaman” offers also on vocals, Sarah Hamel who seems to be hand-picked for just the song. A song that the course is about a something special if the traditional professions, and where a reasonable degree of savagery and dramaturgy course is required. Such obtained here from, among other vicious vokalsamplere and agile and innovative guitar and bass lines, lines. As a compelling final disc gives us 14.16 minutes long “Expanding Universe”. The song has a dark undertone, and the musical range is so wide that it is a pleasure. Yet the song very much accessible and not an exercise in showing off a wealth of good. Right there and not have to show off is of the gentlemen Hamel and John their forces on this album. With two multi-instrumental sites together on a board, so to speak, had enough people fell for the temptation to show off. Instead, it is a great commitment to make good musical ideas into creative, highly audible and exciting music. A msuikk where elements and inspiration from many styles melted together into a smoothly functioning whole. Hard rock, symfonsik, metal, prog, neo, artrock, electronica, prog metal are some of the sources used. That such a broad inspiration could be both unfocused and messy, we avoid here, and instead we get really tasty and good music made. An example of these skills is the duel between the two guitar solos that is alternately lyrical and raw, challenging and constantly supported by really fat and varying keyboard lines. When we also get cover art by Russian artist Vladimir Mold Aversion who is from the top drawer, we are obviously not the less positive of this work. As the preceding text clearly says that this album is best described in the Norwegian as well “a must”, and it definitely belongs in every decent collection of prog!
Here is the text in original form:
Proximal Distance – Proximal Distance
Proximaldistance er tuftet på samarbeidet mellom musikerne Jeff Hamel og Gregg Johns. Det sier kanskje ikke folk flest så mye, men når vi nevner vi bandene Slychosis og Majestic er det muligens noen som det ringer en bjelle for. Nåvel, Johns er fra det kanadiske ensemblet Slychosis, mens Hamel kommer fra Majestic. Begge spiller utallige instrumenter og er drivende krefter i sine respektive band, og disse bandene lager til vanlig ganske så bra proglegert musikk. Musikken er klassisk prog med visse følere til spacerock og med noen innsmett av disharmoniske toner som frisker opp det hele. Foruten visse influenser til Majestic og Slychosis sin musikk er påvirkningene verdt å nevne fra band som Pink Floyd, Saga, King Crimson, Genesis og Yes. Musikken på denne debuten veksler mellom stemningsfulle partier og partier med virkelig full gass og fin intensitet. Heftige instrumentalpartier veksler med vokalpartier hvor blant annet den fine vokalen til Jessica Rasche lar seg høre. Den episke låten ”Gupsy” lar seg så absolutt høre, og vår ”venninne” Jessica Rasche gjør en formidabel innsats og farger låt fortreffelig her. Keyboardene er ofte i et spaca modus, og gitarlinjene er av noe som best kan beskrives som lekre, lekne og vakre. Vi hensettes til 60 og 70 tallet på den fine psykedelisk legerte låten ”Flashback To Now (A Hippy’s Lament)”. Jessica Rasche sin stemme og akustiske gitarer og drømmende keyboards er hovedingrediensene i vakre og spennende ”Leaves Fall”. Også ”Algol” har nylig nevnte type keyboard begynnelsen , men her konverterer låten etter hvert til røffere musikk. En musikk som best kan beskrives som heavyprog, og hvor bass og gitar råder scene med ganske så intens spilling før låten roer seg ned og flyter inn i ”The Shaman”. En ”flyt” som gjør at disse to låtene nærmest utgjør en musikalsk symbiose og i alle fall henger naturlig sammen. ”The Shaman” byr for øvrig på vokal Sarah Hamel som virker å være håndplukket for akkurat den låten. En låt som jo selvsagt handler om en noe spesiell om enn tradisjonell profesjon, og hvor en rimelig grad av villskap og dramaturgi selvsagt er påkrevd. Slikt hentes her fra blant annet ondskapsfulle vokalsamplere og spenstige og innovative gitar- og basslinjerlinjer. Som en mektig finale gir skiva oss 14,16 minutter lange ”Expanding Universe”. Den låten har en mørk undertone, og det musikalske sortimentet er så rikholdig at det er en fornøyelse. Likevel er låten i høy grad tilgjengelig og ikke en øvelse i å vise frem et vell av flinkhet. Akkurat det og ikke måtte vise seg frem er av herrene Hamel og Johns sine styrker på denne skiva. Med to multiinstrumentalsiter samlet på et brett så å si , hadde mange nok falt for fristelsen til å vise seg frem. I stedet er det et flott fokus på å forme gode musikalske ideer om til kreativ, svært hørbar og spennende musikk. En msuikk hvor elementer og inspirasjon fra mange stilarter smeltes sammen til et velfungerende hele. Hardrock, symfonsik metall, prog, neo, artrock, electronica, progmetall er noen av kildene som brukes. At en så bred inspirasjon kunne bli både ufokusert og uryddig unngår vi her, og i stedet får vi virkelig velsmakende og dyktig laget musikk. Et eksempel på nevnte dyktighet er duellen mellom to gitarsoloer som vekselsvis er stemningsfulle og rått utfordrende, og hele tiden understøttet av virkelig fete og varierende keyboardlinjer. Når vi så også får cover art av den russiske artisten Vladimir Moldavsky som er fra øverste skuff blir vi jo selvsagt ikke mindre positive til dette verket. Som den foregående teksten klart sier så kan denne skiva best beskrives på godt norsk som ”et must”, og den hører definitivt hjemme i enhver anstendig samling av prog!
http://proximaldistance.com
1. Algol (Instrumental)
2. The Shaman
3. Gypsy
4. Contemplation
5. Flashback to Now (A Hippy’s Lament)
6. Deep Space Intermission
7. Leaves Fall
8. Journey of Truth
9. Coherence
10. Expanding Universe
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Jeff Hamel – Giatrer, keyboards, bass og vokal
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Gregg Johns – Gitarer, keyboards ,bass, mandoliner og vokal
Gjesteartister,
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Sarah Hamel – Vokal på spor 2
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Jessica Rasche – Vokal
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Jeremy Mitchell – Trommer
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Todd Sears – Trommer
Posted: June 2, 2010 at 10:29 am
Artist/ Band: Majestic
Title: Arrival
Label: Mals
Year of Release: 2009
Offical Artist/ Band Link
The Review:
- In 2009, American progressive rock band, Majestic, released their third album Arrival. Majestic is comprised of multi-instrumentalist Jeff Hamel and vocalist Jessica Rasche. Both of them create their own brand of progressive rock that involves stepping into the progressive metal camp. The biggest difference with Majestic is that they are not clones of what‘s been released in the market. One band I‘m reminded of, when Jessica sings, is another American band called Leger De Main.Arrival is comprised of 4 long tracks, the longest being 36 minutes and the shortest, 9 minutes. Opening this album is “Gray” (22:39) and showcases both Jeff & Jessica’s vocals. They compliment each other flawlessly here. The song flows perfectly going from full on progressive metal to progressive/space rock in the course of the track. The way the instrumentation is, reminds me a little bit of Anbeon (an Ayreon off-shoot band).
“Wish” (9:12) which is a vehicle for Jessica’s vocals. Jeff plays a softer almost acoustic guitar playing here. The song reminds me of a Wish You Were Here vibe. Next up is “Glide” (9:36). The instrumentation switched gears to a metallic guitar assault, almost a flip side of “Wish”. About 4 minutes into the song, there tempo slows down then continues on with the metallic wave. This song will satisfy most progressive metal and heavy progressive rock fans alike.
The ending song, is the title track (36:04).Aside from having the album title, this is the main focal point of the album. It also showcases how the band sounds in 2009. From it’s spacey beginning, “Arrival” takes the listener on an aural journey. While having some metallic guitar parts, especially towards the end, this is further from the progressive metal vibe the rest of the album has. This song alone is, to me, what the Majestic output is all about (in 2009). I was told by Jeff that the next album will have a different sound.
In closing both Jeff & Jessica create what has become a favorite of mine. Had I received this back in 2009, it would surely grace my favorites of that year, hands down. If you like long epic lengthy tracks and a fan of Pink Floyd and the spacier side of Ayreon then Arrival is the album you need in your collection. With excellent instrumentation and vocals, Arrival gets a high recommendation!
Clover, a 4 part suite was recorded after Arrival, and are a seperate enitiy, I felt it important to mention Clover here within this review. According to Jeff, he wanted to have some shorter peices of music to show what Majestic was all about. It was also recorded while Jeff & Jessica were contributing to the Proximal Distance project (which has been reviewed here). The Clover suite is available as a FREE downlaod on the Majestic website. If you’re already a fan of the band or even a newbie (such as myself) this would a perfect starting point within the Majestic catalog.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on May 31st, 2010
Posted: February 17, 2010 at 8:37 pm
The Jan 2010 issue of Prog-résiste magazine features an interview (in French) with Jeff Hamel of Majestic along with a review of Majestic’s Arrival CD. Prog-résiste is a belgian “Non Profit Making Association” having the aim to promote the Progressive Rock in Belgium, in other french-speaking countries and all around the world if possible.
Be sure to check out Prog-résiste at http://www.progresiste.com
The english translation of the interview conducted by Alex Willem is as follows:
Interview on 11/04/2009
To start, can you please present yourself shortly?
My name is Jeff Hamel and I am the musician primarily responsible for the music of Majestic. Majestic is a neo-symphonic prog recording project out of Minnesota, USA.
“Arrival” is your second album. Can you tell us the genesis of this album? What has been the creation process of it ?
Actually, Arrival is my third album release. My first was Descension and that was followed by String Theory. However, due to the label issues S.T. was not promoted the way it should have been. Fortunately, Mals Ltd picked up Descension and released it under their label. Mals being a progressive rock and metal label really opened the door for Majestic.
In Oct 2008, I found an unknown vocalist Jessica Rasche looking for a band in our local area. I heard some samples she had done with some other musicians. Even though Jessica’s music was quite different from Majestic I thought her voice would be a strong asset to the project. So I suggested collaboration on a track or two just to hear what the final product would sound like. We put the samples out and the responses were overwhelmingly positive. It was quite clear that her voice fit perfectly with the Majestic sound. Subsequently, I invited her to be the primary vocalist of Majestic and the Arrival recording sessions began.
Do you see an evolution between this album and the previous one ?
Most Definitely, Descension was a collection of smaller pieces of music written in 2006-2007 which was bordering progressive and just rock. Deservingly, it received only midgrade reviews. I have always been recording ideas down and descension was my first attempt at putting anything out there to the public.
My next attempt was String Theory. This was quite a bit more progressive in terms of being a concept CD. However, the songs were not as long due to limitations of label wanting me to keep the tracks less than 10 minutes long and be more like popular American rock. String Theory was superior to Descension but the CD went into obscurity rather quickly from virtually no promotion.
When I began recording Arrival I decided to write something that I liked to hear and not worry about whether people would like it or buy it. I just wrote for myself and I have always enjoyed the longer epic sounding tracks. Also I have always had the desire to do something “bigger”. In addition, Jessica’s vocal talent opened up new doors for the music. Her vocals allowed me to go heavier than I had before. My vocals are passable on softer music but with Jessica handling the heavier riffs I felt the sky is the limit.
To the exception of the vocals (performed by Jessica Rasche), you play all the instruments (like Mike Oldfield…). Is it something you enjoy to play all instruments?
Very much. The guitar has always been my main instrument. Playing all the instruments is like a double edge sword. The good part is that I have 100% control over the music and direction it takes with no arguments. The bad part is I have no one to bounce ideas off of when I get stuck on a part. Over all playing all the instruments has worked out and the good outweighs the bad.
The album starts with a long track and ends with another long track? This is very Rock Progressive. What do you think? Do you claim doing Prog music?
I rarely listen to anything except progressive music. I enjoy music that takes the listener places and lets them use their imagination. I write music I enjoy listening to and Prog music involves more epic intricate tracks that you continue to get new things out of every time you listen. Arrival allowed me to write something that I as prog fan was able to enjoy.
What are the artists who influenced your work?
In no particular order, some of the bands that move me are Yes, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Ayreon, Riverside, Genesis, Rush and Pink Floyd.
How do they influence your work?
I try to pick up bits and pieces from songs I like. If you break down a Majestic track you will find all these influences throughout the music. Although, I have never been into learning and playing other peoples music their influences will always be there.
Listening to your music, it reminded us (at Progresiste) the music of Saga, especially the track “wish”. Is this also an influence?
I will take that as a compliment. Saga is a great band. Though I thought “wish” was more Steven Wilson’s No-Man influenced.
Is that kind of music popular in the US? Is it easy to tour to present it?
There are some great prog bands here in the states. Short of some festivals, progressive music is not as popular as it should be. There is no denying Majestic has a much bigger following overseas.
What are the things you are happy about this album and what would you like to redo?
I am thrilled with the response the CD has received. I knew with Jessica’s voice we were creating something new and fresh, however with the mediocre reviews of past material I had no idea “Arrival” would be so widely accepted.
As a musician, I always hear things I think could have been done better or different. That being said, I am a strong believer that you make a song as well as you can at the time and then put a stake in the ground and move on. I just take the mistakes and learn not to repeat them next time around.
What are your project for near future?
For about a year now I have been collaborating with Gregg Johns of Slychosis on a project called Proximal Distance. We are almost done recording and are looking to release around end of 2009 or early 2010. This CD will feature Jessica and I (Majestic) along with Gregg Johns, Todd Sears, and Jeremy Mitchell from Slychosis. We are really excited about this project.
What would you say to our reader to invite them to listen your music?
Majestic is relatively new on the prog scene and definitely worth checking out. If you are a fan of prog you won’t be disappointed because this album touches on the many different styles. Stop by our website at www.majesticsongs.com . There we have free downloadable music, reviews, and current updates on our projects.
