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Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 23-JUN-2009
CD Reviews
New old style prog rock
James F. Pomeranz | denver colorado | 07/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you like early 70's prog rock like Kansas, ELP, Camel,Eloy, Early Genesis, you'll most likely enjoy this.
Loaded with analog keys, and smooth guitar playing, this is a good cd to close your eyes and drift away with the music. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
"
Just the start of something better
jalcruces | Las Cruces, NM | 07/25/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Weirding was recorded in a garage, and sounds like it. But if you are into 70's Prog rock, this should add to the aura. Astra's freshman attempt is mesmerizing in a nostalgic sort of way for those of us who were alive in the 70's and loved the progressive music of the day with it's melloton induced head spins. We saw no reason for it to disappear. It's nostalgic, only because it did disappear... for the most part. With a new generation, perhaps it's back, and here to stay, for a whole new generation to enjoy without having to have glimpses of the past. Astra's "The Weirding" is a bold attempt to slice into that not so musical mayhem that is Brittney Spears and 50 cent. An attempt to bring real music to the fore and perhaps musicianship to our ears. My only complaint.... the drums are bit lacking and are monotonous and annoying."
Astra - Black Sabbath Meets Pink Floyd
Steven Sly | Kalamazoo, MI United States | 11/23/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Astra are one of my most pleasant surprises of the year so far. I picked up the album after it was announced that the band would be playing NEARfest this summer which I will be attending. Prior to that I had never heard of the band. To say this album is retro sounding would be a vast understatement. This album could have come out about 1974 and would have fit right in. The band's sound reminds me of the more pscyh oriented stuff from early Black Sabbath mixed with "Echoes" era Pink Floyd. The band is not all that far removed from modern day stoner rock bands such as The Sword either. The 8 tracks here are rather long and plodding, but to my ears they pretty much all work. I like the whole thing, but the tracks "Rising Of The Black Sun", "The Weirding", "Broken Glass", "The Dawning Of Ophiuchus", and "Beyond To Slight The Maze" are my favorites. The one drawback of the album is the actual recording itself. The production is pedestrian at best, sounding like it was recorded in a very lo-fi situation. This muddy mix again makes the album sound retro, but with proper modern production I think this thing could have sounded a heck of a lot better and would have been more effective. Sound problems aside, I think this is one of the best albums of the year and I highly recommend it."
Don't believe the naysayers. . ."The Weirding" is excellent!
Exwag | Iowa City, IA | 05/31/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As a serious old-school progger (I am not a big fan of prog with hyphens, like "prog-metal" or "neo-prog" or "crossover-prog" or whatever), I am very picky about what passes off as prog today. To me, it necessarily means at least some long songs, some degree of instrumental prowess or at least creativity and exploration, the use, generally, of old-school synthesizers, mellotrons, electric pianos, etc. I realize this is not everyone's definition but by way of introduction, it is mine. Astra has made a very classic-sounding prog record here (down to the sound, which is NOT "bad" as some have characterized it, just not "modern" in the sense of being overly compressed, overly loud, overly processed, and overly overdubbed---it's a good, clean, early 70s sounding record). The songs are good, with lots of melody in both the vocals and the instrumental parts, some nice, spacey jamming (Astra is more, say, Pink Floyd or Caravan than they are Genesis or Yes, in this respect), and delicious use of some Moogs and Mellotrons. In some parts too, in evokes Black Sabbath's more prog moments (let's not forget that in England they were on the Vertigo label initially). Sure, it's derivative----that see-sawing Mellotron part in the title track is an inversion of a similar one in King Crimson's "Cirkus", "Beyond to Slight the Maze" is a rewrite of parts of Pink Floyd's "Echoes"----but that's kind of the point of the band, to evoke a particular period and style of rock that many of us love, and that few bands play today. If you dig "Meddle", "In the Court of the Crimson King", and late-60s Moody Blues, I think you'll really enjoy Astra. Support an up-and-coming band---remember that many of our faves did not make their masterpiece records until their 3rd or even 4th try (e.g., Genesis, Yes). Enjoy "The Weirding" now, and let's see what these San Diego boys can come up with next!"
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1