by J. Wallace

Artist: Avalon Rising
Album: "Storming Heaven"
Year produced: 2004

Avalon Rising has quite a track record. Twelve years in the Bay Area and on stages throughout the Pacific Northwest has honed the skills of this Celtic/Medieval rock group to a high degree. Fans of the Avalon Rising's blend of traditional, slightly psychedelic and Mid-Eastern influences will be quite pleased with Storming Heaven. It gets off to a rousing start with The Hexamshire Lass, and Hunt The Blarney Cat. There are good old-fashioned sounds on The Lark In The Morning, but this is far from a traditionalist release. The song Jack Daw is a progressive rock ballad some are comparing to Jethro Tull, and the band shows off their a capella talent on Health To The Company, which closes out the CD.

It's not an easy feat to pull off such a wide range of diverse sounds and influences while keeping a heavy Celtic flavor, but Avalon Rising is up to the job. The band scores points with 'old school' Irish music lovers with the pagan overtones their music, and makes the grade with fans of skilled guitar playing. Some will pick up this album out of sheer curiosity-how can a band manage hints of the Middle East, psychadelia and, on Musical Pesto Set, a hint of the Red Hot Chili Peppers while still uncompromisingly Celt? Avalon Rising is a group giving big headaches to music store employees who can’t quite find a category for this progressive/traditional band.

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Celtic MP3 Music Magazine writer Joe Wallace reviews music for many publications and writes both nonfiction as well as short stories. His nonfiction work includes articles for Korean Quarterly, Indie-Music.com, the Alternative Culture Guide, and Factsheet Five. Contact him through his website at www.freelance-zone.com.

Labels: cd_review_2005

Posted by Marc Gunn, Thursday, July 21, 2005.
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