To Shatter All Accord (All Strung Out Records, 2011)
Discipline, from Detroit, is one of the leading progressive rock bands in the American Midwest. The group is a rarity in a sea full of Genesis and Yes followers. Discipline, led by keyboardist and composer Matthew Parmenter performs a darker form of progressive rock, inspired by Van der Graaf Generator.
Their eagerly anticipated new album To Shatter All Accord was released in late 2011. The opening track, ‘Circuitry’ disappoints with its aggressive hard rock guitar that drowns everything. In the middle of the track, Discipline gives a brief taste of its tremendous potential with a mix of jazz and progressive rock with saxophone, keyboards and elegant guitar that for a moment recalls the great American band Happy the Man. Unfortunately, the hard rock returns to close the piece.
‘When the Walls are Down’ is another hard rocker with the guitars drowning everything. I find progressive rock musicians playing hard rock and AOR a wasted talent.
The third piece, titled ‘Dead City’ still has hard rock guitar, but the keyboards and vocals manage to stand out. Two minutes into the piece, the electric guitar switches to melodic mode, creating fine interplay with the keyboards. Unfortunately, the guitar quickly reverts to hard rhythm mode.
The best cut is ‘When She Dreams She Dreams in Color.’ This is progressive rock at its best. The piece begins with poetic and nuanced vocals and keyboards that lead into a superb instrumental progression with delectable mellotron, a mesmerizing violin solo and intricate guitar work. This piece demonstrates that darkness and tension does not require hard rock or heavy metal.
The lengthy ‘Rogue’ is the 24-minute epic on the album. The track begins with acoustic guitar that leads into electric guitars and vocals. The piece goes through a series of excellent overdubbed vocal and instrumental passages and progressions that mix subtle tranquil moments with tension. There are more tasty mellotron and electric guitar solos, accompanied by delicate jazz rhythm guitar which is a welcome change.
The line-up on To Shatter All Accord includes Matthew Parmenter on vocals, keyboards, saxophone and violin; Jon Preston Bouda on guitars; Mathew Kennedy on bass; Paul Dzendzel on drums and percussion.
To Shatter All Accord shows us the potential of what could be one of the best progressive rock bands in the current scene. If Discipline reigns in the hard rock and replaces it with more creative arrangements, I foresee a bright future.