Album number 3 for this US outfit from Richmond Virginia. Although the various members live all over the place. But since the band is founded by Mike Visaggio (keyboards), who still writes the majority of the music, Richmond it is. After the success of previous album Travelog, they have now expanded to a quintet, with St. John Coleman on vocals, Mark Tupko on bass, Michael Murray still on drums and Peter Matuchniak on guitar.
Some may be tempted to write the band off as a Yes / Genesis clone, but I don’t think that would be very fair. Yes it is obvious those bands are at the root and heart of KE’s sound. But especially in the epic tracks like All Open Eyes and The Face Of Life, they manage to add their own music identity. Let alone that both Yes and (old) Genesis have a distinct style, so a melting pot of those ingredients would already be something different.
Anyway, to me it is clear that the guys put their heart and soul into the music. And in doing so, create an album that will appeal to those stuck in the Seventies as well as those that keep track of everything that is going on in today’s scene.
I really like that despite that these 2 epics form 70% of the album, it still feels song based. No ego tripping and self indulgent technical wizardry. But songs that have a story to tell.
Another good effort, recommended!
