ENCHANT: Blink of An Eye CD PROMO. Solid hard prog rock a la Rush, Marillion, Kansas. Check samples

Description

nchant – Blink Of An Eye
Label: Inside Out Music – IOMLTDCD 105, Inside Out Music America – IOMACD 2040
Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition PROMO
Country: Germany
Released: 2002
Genre:Rock
Style:Prog Rock

CHECK EVERY SINGLE SONG. CHECK ALL 10 SONGS of this album:

Tracklist:
1 Under Fire 5:58
2 Monday 7:10
3 Seeds Of Hate 6:17   Keyboards [Additional] – Phil Bennett
4 Flat Line 5:23
5 Follow The Sun 6:08 Bass – Doug*
6 Ultimate Gift 7:58
7 My Everafter 5:39 Keyboards [Additional] – Phil Bennett
8 Invisible 5:41
9 Despicable 4:13  Guitar [Additional] – Ted*
10 Prognosis   7:29   Keyboards [Additional] – Phil Bennett

Arranged By – Enchant
Artwork By – Thomas Ewerhard
Bass – Ed Platt
Drums, Engineer [2nd] – Sean Flanegan
Guitar, Keyboards – Douglas A. Ott
Keyboards [Solos] – Phil Bennett
Mixed By, Recorded By [Drums] – Tom King-Size*
Producer, Recorded By – Douglas A. Ott
Vocals – Ted Leonard

Produced & recorded @ The Ottotorium; mixed & drum recording @ Tomland

a consistently solid set of sweetly textured, creative hard prog-rock awash in ambient neo-prog atmosphere. Feeling like a combination of modern-day Rush and Elefante-era Kansas (the “”Drastic Measures”” and “”Vinyl Confessions”” albums) with Enchant’s neo-prog foundations, “”Blink Of An Eye”” is a moody, beautiful album, thoroughly engrossing to those who get swept up in the undercurrents. From swirling ballads to hard-charging rockers, “”Blink Of An Eye”” doesn’t deviate far from the feel of Enchant’s previous album, “”Juggling 9 Or Dropping 10.”” But its sound is significantly more focused, without the forays into either simpler pop or edgier prog. As a result, “”Blink Of An Eye”” is a more focused, coherent set, and all the songs seem to benefit. It may not be grandly dramatic or inventively artsy enough for some prog fans, but overall, “”Blink Of An Eye”” is an emotional, accessible, smartly constructed neo-prog record from a band that seems to mature and improve with each successive release. If you are a fan of song-oriented hard neo-prog (Rush, Kansas, Marillion, etc.) who had given up on Enchant because of their past mediocrity, you might want to check them out again. This is too good an album to blindly overlook, and even doubters may well find “”Blink Of An Eye”” a deep, remarkably compelling surprise

1. Under Fire 2.Monday 3.Seeds Of Hate 4.Flat Line 5.Follow The Sun 6.Ultimate Gift 7.My Everafter 8.Invisible 9.Despicable 10. Prognosis (Bonus)
Time: 54:31

5.0 out of 5 stars Man, I love this band.,
I am just completely enthralled with Enchant’s music at the moment. Every album they’ve put out is just amazing (well, I’m not that big into “”Break”” yet, but other than that one…), and each album has its own unique feel. “”Blink of an Eye””, their fifth release (not counting “”Time Lost””), is one of their strongest albums to date (and I think that’s saying a lot, considering how great most of their material is). It’s a bit catchier and more light-hearted than anything they had previously done, and as such might be a bit more of an “”easy listen”” to a new fan. At any rate, it is top notch music.
The album was released under the unfortunate circumstance of the departure of two of the band’s long-time members, keyboardist Michael Geimer and drummer Paul Craddick. While this departure may worry some fans (and understandably so), there is no cause for alarm. Filling in on the keys is Phil Bennett, who was never really a full time member, but he filled in the space quite well. He doesn’t really do anything that Geimer didn’t do, but he still does an excellent job. Craddick’s departure was certainly a much more significant blow, as he is not only a spectacular drummer, but he was also one of the band’s main lyricists. Basically, he is pretty much irreplaceable. However, the band made a good choice in Sean Flanagan (formerly of The Truth About Seafood, which is also Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph’s former band). He has a completely different style from Craddick, but he is still an excellent drummer, and he fits in really well with the band’s sound (maybe even better than Craddick, although I still like his style more).

So anyway, the lineup is secure, and the guys cranked out another spectacular release. As I said before, this album is much more light-hearted than their previous releases, and I suspect the lineup change had something to do with that. They were all adjusting to each other, so they didn’t want to jump into anything too in-depth. The album seems a bit more straight-forward, but that’s not a bad thing at all.

Every song here is solidly written, and full of catchy riffs, great choruses, and beautiful melodies. The album starts off with the hard-rocking “”Under Fire””, with crashing riffs accompanying the attention-getting lyrics (about a soldier who is racked with guilt, after shooting someone in a war). From there, things slow down a bit with the softer “”Monday””, and continue in more of the mid-paced, melodic fashion throughout most of the album. For me, every song is a highlight, but a few that stand out are the super-catchy “”Flat Line””, the epic ballad “”Ultimate Gift”” (the best sappy love ballad ever, bar none), and the just flat-out jaw-dropping “”Follow the Sun”” (with one of the best choruses in the history of time). “”My Everafter”” starts with an icy keyboard melody, building into a powerful riff, and again we have a great chorus. “”Despicable”” starts out at kind of a mid-pace, finally building into faster, hard-rocking riffs, making for a great finale. But it’s not over yet, at least not if you have the special edition. The special edition includes an instrumental bonus track called “”Prognosis””, which is an energetic, guitar-driven piece, filled with intense, Dream Theater-like riffs and beautiful melodies. It’s actually kind of repetitive, but it’s not really a big deal, because the music is so great.

Maybe I’m a bit biased, as I am a total Enchant fanboy these days, but I think this album, and this band, are just fantastic. Anyone who enjoys well-played music with great melodies should buy up everything this band has to offer, and this album here is probably a good place to start. However, if you’re a prog snob, who thinks that technical prowess is more important than petty things like catchiness or playing for the song, you’ll probably hate it. These guys are amazing musicians, but they make songs, not wankfests. So, yeah, buy this. You might like it.

(Oh, and it can’t be said enough: Ted Leonard has one of the most perfect voices in all of rock.)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Enchant : “”Blink Of An Eye””,
If you’re like me, you’ve probably never heard of Enchant until now. I myself didn’t know what to expect, but I can tell you Enchant is without question one of the most inspiring unknown bands on the planet. They play in the vein of bands like Kansas, Rush, but have a hard / soft edge to their sound. It’s highly enjoyable….

I’m amazed with the creativity Enchant displays with each and every release. They never seem to be satisfied with one specific direction. They’re always pushing the bar, and with “”Blink Of An Eye”” they’ve craeted yet another masterpiece for us to enjoy….

If you enjoy great, well crafted music, buy everything from Enchant with confidence. One of the greatest unknown bands I’ve ever heard…

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5.0 out of 5 stars Totally incredible,
This review is from: Blink of an Eye (Audio CD)
This release by Enchant is my first to purchase, but won’t be my last. I’ve just had it a few days and I’m already scrambling to buy their 4 others. The musicianship is strong, Ted Leonard’s voice is surprisingly song(if only Steve Walsh could still sing like this), but what really makes this effort stand out is the songs! They are beautifully simple, and at times complex, power pop songs, extremely well produced, and tightly executed. My only complaint so far is that Doug Ott’s guitar solos are too short and confined to the fade-outs at the song’s ends. Awesome CD, though,rush and buy it ASAP if you’re a PROG fan, or even a mainstream rock fan-it’s TOTALLY INCREDIBLE!!!”