Detailed Reviews [Scott Mosher - 2006 - "Deep Horizon"]

Prolusion. American musician and composer Scott MOSHER has been on the scene for no less than ten years, having had time to make four solo albums during this period. These are "Ambient Earth" (1996), "Virtuality" (2002) "Inferno" (2004) and "Deep Horizon", which was brought out some four months ago.

Analysis. Apart from Mr. Mosher himself and singer Scott Oliva mentioned in the lineup above, this CD features also Todd Corsa (formerly a singer for the project), although his performance is limited to "additional guitar solos" on two pieces, the title track and Re-Engineering The Mind. "Deep Horizon" shows that Mosher doesn't mislead in listing Kitaro, Fates Warning, George Lynch, Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, Neil Peart and Carl Sagan as his benefactors. The music on his new offering is indeed something averagely between progressive metal, ambient and space rock with a strong 'modern' feeling, which is certainly explained by the instruments used (electric guitar, digital synthesizers, programmed bass and drums, etc), which in turn, is typical for Scott's work in general, as is also the rubber-like sound of the drum machine - the weakest spot of any of his recordings. Nonetheless the growth of the man's compositional mastery is this time out more obvious than ever before. Dynamic, aggressive guitar riffs, atmospheric keyboard passages, electrified guitar solos, the powerful beats of a drum machine and strong, emotionally saturated vocals are all delivered in a way that they effectually contrast with each other, which makes the music sound diverse without being too complicated. Scott Oliva's singing isn't anything extraordinary, particularly with regard to the heavy metal scene, but suits this stuff really well. None of the ten songs evoke direct associations with others' creations, though Rush, Fates Warning, Saga, Eloy and the Rabin-era Yes can be named as rough points of comparison. The very best tracks would be A Path of Pride, which is probably the heaviest and, at the same time, the most contrast-full composition here, and the 9-minute instrumental Re-Engineering The Mind. Scott Mosher is also known as a graphic artist, and it needs to be noted that the booklet is filled with highly impressive graphic images of an apocalyptical character, expressing their creator's anxiety for the future of Earthly humanity, which also finds its reflection in the lyrics.

Conclusion. "Deep Horizon" is definitely Scott Mosher's best effort to date. Those liking his previous albums should be first to check it out.

VZ: Agst 22, 2006