GEKKO PROJEKT – Reya Of Titan (2015)

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American combo GEKKO PROJEKT was once a collective of four male musicians Peter Matuchniak (g), Vance Gloster (k, voc), Rick Meadows (b) and Alan Smith (d) with a love for melodic progressive rock. They did one album so far which was a fine plate in this style.
Now they’ve added a female vocalist in JoJo Razor (aka Jo Blackwood Martin) who brings a great deal more than vocals as she has a significant resume that also includes the fine arts to performance art.
She shares vocals, and takes upon the role of Reya in the in the Gekko Projekt new concept album “Reya Of Titan“.

So “Reya Of Titan” is a concept album, better a story, telling ‘the futuristic story of a woman who leaves Earth to do asteroid mining only to end up marooned on Titan, the moon of Saturn’. Apart from that, the interesting thing here is Gekko Projekt’s melodic progressive rock with classic touches which, while lightly technical, is inviting, accessible, and highly entertaining.
The album starts with ‘Elegy’, a short intro with atmospheric guitar by the talented Matuchniak and a digital narration that introduces the listener to Reya’s adventures, an asteroid miner who is left abandoned in Titan.

Most of the arrangements gel around Gloster’s keyboards and Matuchniak’s guitar. Actually, the latter is one my favorite elements about Gekko Projekt, one that always makes me want to listen the next song.
Matuchniak has a clean and melodic technique to his guitar tone with a style that reflects anyone from Gilmour to Hackett, Andy Latimer (Camel) to Ian Bairnson (Alan Parsons), he can be brisk and sharp, then smooth and subtle. His is not neoclassical histrionics, but more precision and creative expression.

In turn, Gloster can offer some awesome synth wizardry and wonkery, yet not eclectic or weird. Often underneath it all, you might find the Hammond tone to be his foremost inspiration. Collected together, with the bass and drums, there is another current flowing here, something of progressive fusion with rock&pop nerve.
It’s self-evident in more than a few songs including ‘Queen Of Titan’ (where Smith’s drumming is especially lively) ‘Jovian’ and ‘This Is Now Our Home’.
Mostly, though, the rock edge bends the sound it’s way. For instance, ‘Escape From Titan’s Mines’ has a thicker heavier bottom end, giving it a determined sound that fits with song’s lyrical purpose. This drama is then accentuated with one of Matuchniak’s most direct and sharp guitar solos in the second half.

Jojo Razor’s vocal delivery is quite hypnotic with some staccato leads here and there as in ‘Frienda’, while ‘Snow White’ is opened by a keyboard intro that morphs rapidly into one of the best exhibits of Crossover Prog with mainstream elements that fuse with strong synth passages enhanced by Jojo artsy vocals.

‘This Is Now Our Home’ is the epic number of the story, starting with spacey synths, but soon turns into a soft rock song but with nice guitar and keyboard sections that go in crescendo until the 3:20 mark, when the whole band explodes with an intensity I didn’t expected, in a fusion of different genres that include psychedelic fugues with frenetic guitar solos, all supported with an impeccable rhythm section. The best track of the album with 10:30 minutes of pure melodic prog rock.
The CD ends with the elaborate ‘Escape from the Mines of Titan’ and the melodic melancholy of ‘Sing for Me’, a great closer for a great album.

While there’s nothing like hard rock to rise up your senses, there are times when something a little lighter, but still with a driving energy, hits the right spot. “Reya Of Titan” is one of those albums.
Once one plugs into this new Gekko Projekt CD, one realizes it is an illuminating brand of Progressive music that Rocks while creating the atmospheric musings which harkens back to the majestic heights of classic acts from the genre.

“Reya Of Titan” is an engaging and entertaining melodic progressive rock piece, carefully crafted by some very talented musicians. There is enough muscle on the album to get the aggressive edge needed for rockin’ urgency, yet it employs the delicacy of proggy atmospheres to project layers of sound and create literally a world of imagination.
Gekko Projekt creates very strong compositions, and a lyric content that will send you to different places in time.
Highly Recommended.

01 – Elegy
02 – Snow White
03 – Radio Earth (Interlude)
04 – Grains of Sand
05 – Jovian Belt
06 – North of Titan
07 – Frienda
08 – This Is Now Our Home
09 – 24 Years of Solitude
10 – Queen of Titan
11 – Escape From The Mines of Titan
12 – Radio Titan (Interlude)
13 – Sing For Me

JoJo Razor: Vocals
Peter Matuchniak: Guitars
Vance Gloster: Keyboards, Stick, Vocals
Rick Meadows: Bass
Alan Smith: Drums, Vocals

BUY IT !
melodicrevolutionrecords.com/album/reya-of-titan
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