Octane

Spock's Beard return to the music stores with their first record since Light in June 2004. The first seven tracks of this album comprise a conceptual suite entitled "A Flash Before My Eyes," based on a story by John Boegehold. It's about the experiences of a man in the process of experiencing a car wreck as it happens and watching his life flash before him as it passes out of him. He recalls everything from his parents' separation on Christmas, to high school football games and meeting his wife and creating a life with her. It all ends at the end of the flash. The overture, "Prelude to the Past," is all big prog symphonic rock Former frontman and guitarist Neal Morse's gigantic presence is still missed, but the ambition here is sweeping. Nonetheless, drummer and frontman Nick D'Virgilio is putting forth the effort and he has a compelling presence as a singer, but his lyrics aren't yet there, they still tell more than show. The contrast between Boegehold's narrative passages and the song lyrics that illustrate them is harsh. The music, while more "accessible" than in the past and harder in its rock-ist intentions, still has plenty of flair and verve, though one does miss the wonderfully labyrinthine passages and surprises of yore.