Independent Release
Review by Matteo Bussotti
“Legacy”, Forward Shapes‘ first release is a well made mixture of different sonorities, which obviously lead to prog-rock. Every song, in its own way, its unique: of course, every song is similar to the others in the general feeling (we’re talking about a prog-rock album here, so you won’t find a punk/metal/funk/jazz song in here. If you wanted something like that, stop reading and don’t listen to this album), but you’ll never say “Oh Lord, these two tracks are identical!” or “I’ve already heard something like this”. Every song its unique, as I said, and in this detail resides Forward Shapes‘ strongest point: willpower. Forward Shapes was formed in 2005 by Andrei Kryssov (Guitar) and Brian Andrews (Keyboards), and after some very serious difficulties, the search for excellent members to fill in for the missing instruments (and they indeed found excellent members: Mark Buchner on bass, Alison Vance as the singer, Ryan Hunter as a bass player, backing vocals and Irish whistle, and finally, one my favorite drummers of all time, Marco Minnemann they finally recorded this album not united, but separately, because they all live far one from each other. So, after so many years of waiting and dedication to a single project, shouldn’t we praise Forward Shapes‘ commitment to “Legacy”? Also, they did a great job! Each track is able to entertain you without bore you, even in the 11-minute-long title track: “Legacy”. “Legacy” does not have the pomposity of many prog-rock albums, every song is direct, it doesn’t have enormous solos which only make the song heavier. The keyboards lead in every song, and I have to say Brian is absolutely a fantastic player on his keyboard, while everything else follows. Unfortunately, I also have to say Alison‘s voice, although being beautiful, is not very incisive at certain points, and sometimes she doesn’t manage to give that little bit more of strenght that would have made some songs really beautiful. But, as I said before, her voice is beautiful and she’s capable of singing some really high and difficult notes, so this is only a very minor fault in a fantastic album. Special mention for Marco Minnemann, who’s absolutely brilliant on the drums, with marvelous fills and rhythms. I really, really envy Forward Shapes for having had him to play on their first cd. Well…I really, really like this album. It has personality, and everyone put so many efforts in it that it’d be an absolute shame if you wouldn’t give it a try. I strongly support this band, and I really hope they’ll get all the attention they deserve!
Rating – 88/100
Tracklist
- I Live On
- Never Forget
- Mirrors of You
- Degrees of Freedom
- Elusive
- Holding On
- Proclivity
- Legacy
Line Up
- Alison Vance – Vocals (Special Guest)
- Andrei Kryssov – Guitar
- Brian Andrews – Keyboards
- Mark Buchner – Bass (Special Guest)
- Ryan Hunter – Bass, Backing Vocals & Irish Whistler (Special Guest)
- Marco Minnemann – Drums (Special Guest)
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