Everlasting Instant (Doone Records, 2015)
American progressive rock band IZZ presents Everlasting Instant the third installment of its three-album series. IZZ has the merit of having an ensemble of outstanding instrumentalists and some of the finest vocalists in the American progressive scene: Anmarie Byrnes and Laura Meade.
Like previous albums, Everlasting Instant showcases the IZZ trademark sound, which is a mixture of ballads and state of the art symphonic progressive rock. In addition to the vocals, another admirable side of IZZ is its combination of various types of keyboards like piano, electric organ and synthesizers.
Although Everlasting Instant begins with a piano ballad, don’t let that fool you. Very quickly, the band turns to masterfully-crafted instrumental sections and the wonderful interaction and combination of male and female vocals. In past albums Anmarie Byrnes and Laura Meade appeared occasionally. This time, they have been given a bigger role, which is a very smart move as they add an essential flavor to the group’s sound.
Highlights include the short instrumental ‘Every Minute’, the suite ‘Start Again’, the jazzy ‘If It’s True ‘, the superb piano work in ‘The Three Seers ‘, the guitar lines in ‘Can’t Feel the Earth, Part IV’, the keyboard, guitar and vocal interplay in ‘Illuminata’ and the final piece, a grand symphonic rock masterpiece titled ‘Like a Straight Line’.
The album lineup includes Paul Bremner on electric and acoustic guitar; Anmarie Byrnes on lead and backing vocals; Brian Coralian on electronic and acoustic drums and percussion; Greg DiMiceli on drums and percussion; John Galgano on bass, acoustic and electric guitar, lead and backing vocals; Tom Galgano on keyboards, lead and backing vocals; and Laura Meade on lead and backing vocals. Guests include Caty Galgano on cello and Madeline Galgano on flute.
Everlasting Instant is another winner for IZZ, one of the most consistent and reliably good American progressive rock groups.
Buy Everlasting Instant and the rest of the trilogy series: The Darkened Room (2009) and Crush of Night (2012).