A Shout Into The Void is the fourth album from Great Wide Nothing after releasing The View From Olympus (2019), Hymns For Hungry Spirits, Vol. I (2020) and Hymns For Hungry Spirits, Vol. II (2023). I can say that the progressive-symphonic influences remain; however, the tracks featured on this new album are more concrete and the sound is more concise. This Atlanta-based trio, consisting of Daniel Graham (bass, vocals), Dylan Porper (keyboards, vocals) and Jeff Matthews (drums, vocals), mixes old school prog rock with punk-related alternative sounds. The result is an album that is packed with energy, emotional power, and musical diversity galore. Utopia is the somewhat growling opening track, featuring aggressive vocals, pounding drums, sticky synthesizers, and a beautiful piano interlude! Follow up Rules Of Engagement features a wonderful chorus, while Brain Of Fire has an anthemic melody that sticks in your mind for a long time. One Thousand Eyes, the longest track of the album, is an instrumental and is my favourite song here. One Thousand Eyes is aggressive, very dynamic and shows the musical skills of Great Wide Nothing for 100% and the fact that this song has no vocals makes it even better as the vocals are quite frankly difficult to listen to.... A Shout Into The Void is instrumentally a very decent album, although not really spectacular, and most of the songs feature great catchy riffs and melodies, making this a fast prog rock record which you can enjoy if you are not too critical about the vocal performance on Great Wide Nothing's fourth studio album. Try it out for yourself and see if you like it, or maybe you also have "problems" with the rather "amateurish" vocals.... *** Martien Koolen (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
