RC2 -  Future Awaits          9/10

By Eduard Antoniu

This is the chronicle of an intercontinental journey. The band was formed in Caracas, Venezuela, nine years ago, upon the dissolution of the Radio Clip group and also from the members’ love of the music genre. They released an album five years ago on Musea Records. This is their second album. It is also their first since moving to Barcelona, Spain, in 2004, as well as their first release on ProgRock Records. They opened for Dream Theater on tour this year. And it is Dream Theater that RC2’s sound on this album comes close to.

“Time Pieces” is an 11 minutes’ suite with an infusion of Camel-like sound, a middle section with a bass/guitar duo and a piano closing section that was formulaic for tracks on the band’s debut album.

There’s a repeated lyric on “Future Awaits” that brings a smile to this reviewer: “and I review wherever I go” (the nature of the day job and this activity – I wish it substituted the daytime one…). There’s also a sequence that reminds of the final part of Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP)’s “A Time and a Place” from Tarkus. “11” uses a similar sequence. It begins a la ELP’s “Tank” and includes a theme as if a distant echo of the more acoustic section of Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine”

“Autumn” sounds like a softer part of Dream Theater’s Scenes of a Memory. One progression reminds of the “Welcome back to the circus” part in Marillion’s “Cinderella Search” on Fugazi.

“El Diablo Suelto” (“The Devil Loose”) is the most unusual track on the album. Not only does it almost sound like waltz on guitar but also it sometimes gives the feeling of a guitar miniature by Fernando Sor.

“Coming Down Again” is built on a techno-pop-like rhythm and evolves into a fusion of Camel-like, Dream Theater-like and Marillion-like themes.

“Voice of the Storm” is a two part suite, totaling 16 minutes. The first one has a Camel-like sound. It opens with a guitar riff that reminds of the one in Animal’s “The House of the Rising Sun” and it closes with floating Gilmourian guitar. In part two, there are reminders of Marillion’s “Marquet Square Heroes” and Rush’s “Entre nous”.

All are very intricate compositions, bringing about one hour of listener’s enjoyment.

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