Kaleidoscope

The fourth studio album from the contemporary prog rock supergroup picks right up where 2009's well-received Whirlwind left off. Beginning with the mammoth, meaty, and majestic "Into the Blue: Overture (Instrumental)/The Dreamer and the Healer/A New Beginning/Written in Your Heart/The Dreamer and the Healer (Reprise)," which allows each member the space with which to flex his considerable creative muscles, Kaleidoscope finds the venerable quartet flirting with gentle, '70s-hued pop hooks ("Shine"), richly detailed ambient soundscapes ("Beyond the Sun"), and thunderous, ELP-kissed stadium anthems ("Black as the Sky") with equal amounts of power and alacrity. As has always been the case, Transatlantic excel at making a four-piece sound like a marauding horde, a tendency best exemplified by the 31-minute closer/title cut, "Kaleidoscope: Overture (Instrumental)/Ride the Lightning/Black Gold/Walking the Road/Desolation Days/Lemon Looking Glass (Instrumental)/Ride the Lightning (Reprise)," a sprawling, serpentine, and resplendent slab of metal-infused, haters-be-damned prog rock goodness that invokes classic Yes, Genesis, Rush, Pink Floyd, and of course, Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, and Marillion. [Kaleidoscope is also available in an expanded edition that includes a second disc of covers and a bonus DVD]. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi