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TAROT “Glimpse of the Dawn”
TAROT “Glimpse of the Dawn”
By Dark Starr
These guys are getting pushed as a progressive rock band. There are some parts that have prog leanings for sure. I just don't see that label fitting, though. I do think they are a heavy metal band, though. That said, it's not a tight fit, either. They have a lot of DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP and RAINBOW reference points. I would say that there is also plenty of NWOBHM here. You might argue with my classification, but this is an intriguing set that is both fresh and rooted in classic sounds.
The opening “Glimpse Of The Dawn” comes in with a keyboard-heavy jam that feels a bit like both DEEP PURPLE and URIAH HEEP. It eventually drives out to more riff heavy rocking stuff that has some hints of heavy metal in the mix. It is a real powerhouse track. Much more of an old-school metal sound is on the menu on “The Winding Road.” It feels like a NWOBHM thing. It's driving, hard-edged and pretty classy. The instrumental break features some killer guitar soloing. At times it leans more on the melodic. At other points it turns more toward shred zones.
Now, “Leshy's Warning” has a lot of progressive rock built into it. Yet it has plenty of meaty metal also on display. The energy and dynamic shifts on the cut are both great. It is one of my favorites here. I love the keyboard presence and the unique changes. I'm reminded a little of Dio era RAINBOW, but with more prog built into it. The closing jam runs close to a more metallic JETHRO TULL and is a real powerhouse. More metal sound merged with DEEP PURPLE and JETHRO TULL seems a pretty apt description of “Echoes Through Time” as it gets underway. The vocals bring more of that NWOBHM sort of thing. “The Harrier” is next, and theinstrumental piece features plenty of melodic guitar and keyboards. It definitely lands along the prog end of the spectrum.
The organ that gets us underway on “The Vagabond's Return” makes me think of both PURPLE and HEEP. As a harder rocking, riff driven section takes over, those references are intensified. The vocals bring more of that NWOBHM vibe, though. The keyboard dominated instrumental break brings more progressive rock to the table. The guitar soloing that comes in on the next break reinforces the metal concepts.
There are some hard rocking elements at play, but overall “Dreamer In The Dark” feels more pure metal than some of the stuff here. There is some great energy to the track. It does get a little proggy in a break later. It has some smoking hot metal informed by hard rock at its core. Keyboards start “Heavy Weighs The Crown,” lending a real prog angle to it. It eventually shifts toward more driving metal sound. I really love some of the riffs on the stomper. It is one of the highlights of the set for me. There are some proggier things that come in both as icing on the cake and as melodic choices. That said, the metal is still in the driver's seat. We have a fast-paced jam later that brings some hints of DEEP PURPLE, but again it resolves to pure metal ferocity. It crescendos late and some cool noisy stuff gives way to some keyboard soloing. That eventually gives way to a return to the earlier modes. Then a short prog meets metal jam ends it (and the album) in style.
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