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After having listened to “Astral Projection” I jotted down a few observations and gave a temporary rating. I remembered reviewing George Bellas’ “The Dawn Of Time” album (2010) but couldn’t recall what my comments had been. To my surprise both ratings and reviews were almost identical. Which brings me to my first point...

 

Sometimes “Astral Projection” struggles to keep the listener’s attention in a firm grasp and I think this stems from a scarce freshness in the way the ideas and technique are put together. Beyond that, Bellas’ guitar-playing skills are phenomenal, the album has a remarkable sense of melody and there’s a lot going on to sink one’s teeth into.

 

‘Heightened Awareness’, for example, boasts some lively guitar harmonies and intricate time progressions. ‘Interdimentional Travel’ doesn’t feel overbearing despite its 11½ minute length – it gives Bellas opportunities to showcase his guitar-playing bravado while the synth gives the composition an umbrella under which to develop. He sheds all subtlety and sounds like a tiger unleashed in ‘Hyperspace’. In ‘Transcendental’, however, I found it hard to relate the bass lines (also played by Bellas) with the rest of the music but the guitar solos have particularly great trade-offs with the keyboard and piano. Also worth mentioning is the drumming of the ubiquitous Marco Minnemann, ever-so-reliable in giving the music some muscle.

 

Bottom line: “Astral Projection” is a fine display of music craftsmanship... possibly minus a teensy bit of pizzazz.

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