Customer Reviews

Blur in Time

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What's Good About It?

Inspired by late seventies, early eighties melodic hard rock. Vanderhoof combine keyboard and organ tones with chunky guitar riffs to add more depth to their songs; a musical art that somehow has been lost. The first track "30 Thousand Feet" is proof how the combo works, with its driving keyboard/guitar hook. The union of instruments holds up throughout the disc. Hart's vocal delivery harkens back to some of the great pop/metal vocalists of the 'Me' decade, while still maintaining its own voice. If you were alive then, you'll certainly recall the music scene with tracks like "Sleeping Giant" and "Electric Love Song." Kurdt doesn't get too showy with his guitar work like most eighties ax-men. He focuses mainly on great rhythm work, but when it's time to unload on the solos, such as on "3AM" and "Un-Changed," Vanderhoof is no slouch.

Anything Bad?

Nothing

Bottom Line

A strong melodic rock disc that sadly, will probably go unnoticed. The songs are well written and well delivered. The keyboards add warmth to a style of music that can sometimes get stale when it's the same three instruments.

Vanderhoof - A Blur In Time

Band Website - www.vanderhoofband.com

Label - SPV / www.spv.de

For those expecting a Metal Church sounding disc, forget it... those looking for a Heavy Metal disc, nope... if you like 70's-80's hard rock like Boston, Triumph, Journey, Deep Purple etc. then you will freak over this disc, I did BIGTIME. I would have to say this is a classic and it was just released, I know it will get no airplay and won't get high in the sales charts which is a total shame, because music this great needs to be brought out to the public.... each song is strong and the performances, production and packaging are excellent!!!

I strongly urge all to buy this disc. Stand out tracks- every tune with special notice to the singing of Drew Hart whose pipes fit this style of music to a tee along with the songsmanship and playing of Kurdt Vanderhoof. Brian Cokeley does a great job of setting the mood with the Hammond Organ and the beat is keep down by Drumming God Kirk Arrington. This may be my CD of 2002!!!

9/10 - Waystėd Rėalm, metalnetradio.com

TRACK LISTING:
01 - 30 THOUSAND FEET
02 - ELECTRIC LOVE SONG
03 - HIGH STREET
04 - NOWHERE TRAIN
05 - 3 AM
06 - UNCHANGED
07 - IF THERES A SONG
08 - BRAND NEW LIGHT
09 - SURFACE OF ANOTHER PLANET
10 - SLEEPING GIANT
11 - SONIC BLUR IN TIME

For those expecting a Metal Church sounding disc, forget it... those looking for a Heavy Metal disc, nope... if you like 70's-80's hard rock like Boston, Triumph, Journey, Deep Purple etc. then you will freak over this disc, I did BIGTIME. Singer Drew Hart's vocal with his sensitive, clear and powerful, yet lilting voice put soul on its progressive melodies, and I really like it. I know it will get no airplay and won't get high in the sales charts which is a total shame, because music this great needs to be brought out to the public.... each song is strong and the performances, production and packaging are excellent!!!

Enjoy!

This cd is fantastic it sounds a like like styx and old uriah heep it is well written and well played .The standouts are 30 thousand feet ,ht street ,nowhere train ,and sleeping giant .This cd reminds me a lot of early styx records and is really good buy this cd and you wont be dissapointed.I hope this review was helpfull to you

Kurdt Vanderhoof has improved with age. From Metal Church to Hall of Flame, and now just Vanderhoof, his music has developed layers of intensity, lyrics with substance, and with his new lead vocalist, Drew Hart, this is his best ever! If you want good music with something besides the bubble-gum stuff you hear all the time, I highly recommend this selection!

I love this CD! Very well written music and lyrics! This is Kurdt Vanderhoof's other project, don't expect Metal Church because it is Vanderhoof! Vanderhoof wanted to write 70's style music because they grow up loving it and Vanderhoof does more then a great job to achieve this! Singer Drew Hart is phenomenal! He reminds you on many 70's singer from time to time but truly has his own style. At times he even sound like the first Vanderhoof singer as well. The best way to describe Vanderhoof is 70's rock with a hard driving force! Bands that are being compared to them are Uriah Heep, Styx, Journey, Deep Purple, Triumph and Kansas. This is a GREAT CD! I give it a 5 out of 5 stars! Get this CD! Get it now!

I've been a fan of Kurdt Vanderhhoof's music for quite some time, and when I heard that he was forming a band under his own monicker I was delighted. He's a great songwriter and guitarist, responsible for some of the beefiest riffs in the Metal Church back catalogue. The CD sleeve thanks bands like Savatage and Pantera, so I was expecting some pretty hard stuff. So when I put this in the CD player, I was shocked to hear a diluted mix of Journey (minus Neal Schon's guitar) and other old AOR bands. Don't get me wrong, some of the songs are a bit catchy, but the whole thing is a rehash of late 70's pop-rock with an over emphasis on synthesizers and an almost complete absence of crunching guitar. In the entire album, we were treated to one great 20 second lead break (3 a.m.) but that's it. Some of the songs slow down in the middle, but then they wander around for about a minute going nowhere until the chorus kicks in again. Furthermore, there are boring outro choruses that seem to last forever, and even an appalling 3 minute long instrumental track which ends up being Vanderhoof fiddling around on the mellotron. What struck me is that the whole thing lacks convinction. The liner notes claim that there was no sampling, and that all of the sounds were generated by the musicians themselves. Who cares; much of the album sounds artificial. I'd advise Metal Church fans to keep their money or spend it elsewhere. Unless the next Vanderhoof album has more bite than this, the project will be very short lived.

This is the worst collection of songs I have ever heard, and I have been around in the times of Helix and Britny Fox. This is a case of a band listening to way to many Styx albums.

This music is just not something you would hear in the US. 70's music is just not being played on the radio. I was disappointed when I compared this to Metal Church. Vanderhoof is Metal Church. It was just very misleading. I hope Vanderhoof's next project is more worthwhile.