SPOCK'S BEARD — Beware of Darkness (review)

SPOCK'S BEARD — Beware of Darkness album cover Album · 1996 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Warthur
Beware of Darkness was Spock's Beard's second album, and also longstanding keyboardist Ryo Okumoto's studio debut with them, Ryo having previously debuted as part of the live performances supporting The Light. Their debut had very much been dominated it its two epic tracks (The Light and The Water), but this time around the band go for more of a balance between epics and briefer compositions, the longest track being the 16 minute closer Time Has Come and the briefest being Chatauqua, which weighs in at less than 3 minutes.

This is not the only respect in which the band seem to be making an effort to show their range here. With the album opening with a George Harrison cover (alright I suppose, but I'm just not keen on the song) and some gorgeous Kansas-esque vocal harmonies and sparse voice-and-guitar moments on The Doorway, the band seem to be testing just how commercial they can go, but on the other hand how much of a shift to commercial acceptability can this represent when you have stuff like Thoughts which is very much in the style of Gentle Giant's most complex works?

For that matter, The Doorway really illustrates how many different styles the band are able to touch on - the band also work in Genesis-esque keyboard solos, classical guitar, and an almost reggae-ish moment into its running time. They'd roved all over the map stylistically on The Light too, of course, but here things seem just a touch tighter and more purposeful than the free-wheeling explorations there. That said, if you want something more sprawling, the album closer absolutely has you covered and feels like the logical extension of The Light and The Water.

I can't give this a perfect mark solely because I just don't rate the George Harrison cover very highly. The fact is, Spock's Beard concentrated on honing their songwriting this time around to the point that they don't really need the cover - the original material here is that strong.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Decievers Deathcore
ORACLE SPECTRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
A Fountain Of Anguish Is Gone Sludge Metal
TIGGUO COBAUC
Buy this album from MMA partners
Colossal Oppressor Sludge Metal
TEN TON SLUG
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tribus Rattus Mortuus Atmospheric Sludge Metal
TRAP RATT
Buy this album from MMA partners
Chrome Sludge Metal
CHROME
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Relations - Schwarzes Blut - 2020 - Lyric Video
RELATIONS
Bosh66· 6 minutes ago
RELATIONS - SHELTER (Official Video)
RELATIONS
Bosh66· 6 minutes ago
RELATIONS - NIGHT LIGHTS (Official Video)
RELATIONS
Bosh66· 6 minutes ago
ORACLE SPECTRE - VOIDSAYER (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO) [2023]
ORACLE SPECTRE
Bosh66· 45 minutes ago
WOMBMOTHER | ORACLE SPECTRE (LYRIC VIDEO)
ORACLE SPECTRE
Bosh66· 45 minutes ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed