Reviews
Tommy Hash's 's review for Ytsejam.
Jon Neudorf's review for Sea of Tranquility
Kerry Kompost's of Mars Hollow review
Christophe Manhès' review for progressia
Erik Lann's review for DPRP
Ron Fuch's review for Prognaut
Geschrieben von Thorsten Dieterle's review for FFM-Rock
Mark M's review for Progressive Waves
Jochen König's review for Musik Reviews
A prefect cross between Van der Graaf Generator & The Mars Volta, The Rebel Wheel brings the sound of profound dark experimentalism with a modern progressive rock edge. Against the backdrop of synths, Mellotrons, various keyboards, and spacious production, you have the vocals of both David Campbell & Angie MacIvor fronting this along with sax and indie rock infused guitars leading the sensible jam sessions. Challenging at times, yet lush with an Echoes-era Floyd vibe, We are in the Time of Evil Clocks is not only of musical expression, but seemingly a reflection of the turbulent times we are in now, as the often sinister aggression of the improvisations bring a large hostility of a mass of the social strains while the more subdued passages denote to the calm before the storm - a fitting title with a fitting soundtrack.
"Klak" and the title track get to the point when it comes to the intriguing experimental strengths that the band possesses, "Wordplay" conjures up a big jazzy feel, while "Settling of the Bones" brings forth an ethereal vibe - the extended piece, "The Discovery of Witchcraft" is a stunning seven part musical manifesto that has all of the right elements of an extended progressive rock composition, going from an enraging passages to eased down melodic soundfields, where We are in the Time of Evil Clocks sees the band expanding on what they did on Diagramma, pushing forward with more musical might at an accessible level so thing don't get too 'out there.'
Beyond the typical realms of both prog and technical indie/college rock, The Rebel Wheel offers the best of both worlds possessing a hipness and a knack to move forward, with lyrical & melodic depth; and it's on their own terms.
Tommy Hash
So far 2010 is off to a great start when it comes to progressive rock in Canada. There have been some fine releases this year and you can add the latest from The Rebel Wheel to the list as it is a superb album. We are in the Time of Evil Clocks is the follow up to their 2007 release Diagramma. The band's personal has changed over the years and on the new release it includes David Campbell (guitars, keys, vocals, bass), Angie MacIvor (saxes, vocals, keys), Aaron Clark (drums, percussion) and Claude Prince (bass), with only Campbell and MacIvor held over from the last album.
To my ears the band plays pure progressive rock flavoured with elements of jazz, fusion, metal and funk. This album completely wowed me from the very first listen and one can tell a tremendous amount of work went into it. This is progressive in the truest sense of the word. Constantly shifting tempos, dynamic arrangements and aural assaults on the senses that will take you by complete surprise. Lets just say there is a lot going on here and while you will hear elements of Zappa, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, and even modern progressive bands like The Mars Volta, Rebel Wheel do not tread so much where others have gone before but have followed their own path where obscure dissonance and wild complexity come head to head with melodic progressive rock making this a richly varied and multifaceted release.
This is one talented band and their instrumental prowess is demonstrated early and often. The keyboard play is a definite highlight as is the diverse guitar playing of Campbell. He proves to be an excellent player providing tasty rhythms, gentle atmospheric textures, blistering leads and strangely dissonant chord structures. The music is quite dark matching the album's loose theme of an uneasy and malevolent future for humanity.
The album gets off to a wonderful start with the title track as angular guitar chords and a fabulous rhythm section gives way to acoustic rhythms and melodic vocals. The intriguingly titled "Klak" shows just how diverse the band is as ominous darker sections mix well with more melodic parts, including some tasty sax by MacIvor. Also check out the jazzy guitar lines in "Wordplay", where a quieter section and an ultra cool synth solo morph into choppy guitar rhythms and interesting drum work. I should also add the vocals of MacIvor are very good as she has a soulful and passionate voice. The atmospheric "Settling Of Bones" conveys an aura of sadness and the echo guitar effect works well.
The album's best song has to be the thirty minute "The Discovery Of Witchcraft", a seven part epic of immense proportions with stunning instrumental play and a diversity of moods and musical soundscapes that will leave you breathless.
The Rebel Wheel takes the listener on a wild ride, creating one of the most adventurous albums I have heard this year. I have no doubt We are in the Time of Evil Clocks will be right up there with the best of 2010 come year end. It is that good and I urge all fans of progressive music to give it a spin as this is one album that deserves to be heard. Highly recommended.
Jon Neudorf
I've been kind of obsessing over this album lately.
This is not your father's prog album; it really doesn't sound anything like most of the offerings of the past few years because The Rebel Wheel don't follow the well-worn paths of the elders or the newer bands blissfuly carrying the torch -- they are clearly speeding down an interstate of their own design, oblivious to passing cliches smouldering like so many wrecked automobles abandoned on the side of the highway, forging a direction unmistakably their own.
The mixture of sonic textures is especially appealing; whereas a band like Wilco (and sometimes Radiohead) has made the application of bleeps-n-squiggles seem arbitrary, on the title track (and elsewhere), The Rebel Wheel incorporate this type of sonic device in a way that is not only musicial, but fresh and honest; there's no hipster sound-of-the-week vibe happening here, it all just works and tastefully at that.
There's a dark, somber, reverb-chamber vibe to the record, but it's not your average bombastic drums-in-a-cathedral offering; it's more organic than that, helped along no doubt by the very cool sax playing by Angie MacIvorn and the detailed acoustic and electric guitar playing of David Campbell. Those two textures alone help differentiate "We Are In The Time Of Evil Clocks" from your standard prog-rock fare circa 2010, but when combined with the unexpected arrangements, unconventional song structures, intelligent application of dynamics, interesting keyboard sounds, and varied him/her vocals, simply elevates the music to a whole 'nother level.
What I find beautiful is that many of the sonic textures associated with classic "prog" are in full force here: squarewave synth solos, blazing electric guitar passages, brief mellotron appearances, jammy Floyd-ish groove sections supporting angular, breathy sax solos, etc., yet the album sounds like nothing else out there today. No small achievement, that.
Listening to the record is akin to crawling inside the mind of a schizophrenic in the sense that the soundscapes range from dark and dissonant horror-movie soundtrack one second, seamlessly shifting to light and contemplative the next, then into pure musical chaos and back again, often in the span of a single song. It's a breathtaking ride and not a little scary if truth be told.
I freely admit I have no clue as to how this material was composed, which I absolutely love; nothing is more satisfying to me than having my mind opened by a songwriting approach. The Rebel Wheel's song structures are certainly unorthodox but clearly not simply for the sake of it. The songs embody the ebb and flow of traditional song structures but often take unexpected melodic and rhythmic directions; often this can provoke a kind of "lost" or "wandering" feeling to me as a listener, but The Rebel Wheel manage to make it all work in a way that is as comfortable and familiar as a traditional prog song, yet still leads down new paths of exploration.
My favorite part of the album is the "Mad Night" section of the 30-minute album-closing epic "The Discovery of Witchcraft". While the whole epic is a magnificent showcase of The Rebel Wheel's eclectic direction, "Mad Night" really brings it all together, highlighting the musicianship of each band member as well as packing an incredible sinister straight-jacket groove.
I can't say enough about the musicianship of this collective; Campbell really gets out there on guitar, keyboards and vocals, MacIvorn brings her own sense of contrasting identity via her vocal, sax and keyboard work, Aaron Clark provides the perfect-pocket doom-groove on the drumkit, and Guy Dagenais complements and reinforces the music with tasteful and melodic bass playing.
Definitely one of the most interesting and intriguing albums I've heard in many a year -- a heartfelt "thanks" to The Rebel Wheel for bringing forth such a sinister-yet-ultimately uplifting ride of an album.
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Touched by an anvil.
Désespérant ! C'est à se demander si le milieu du rock progressif ne se comporte pas comme celui de la scientologie : dès qu'il s'agit d'évoquer ses travers, derrière « l'harmonie » et les rêves bleus se dissimule la loi du silence. Des alpages proviennent de trop nombreux disques pour lesquels critiques et fans manquent singulièrement de hargne dans leurs jugements. En plus d'être considérée comme « positive » et donc intouchable, la part onirique de cette musique la déchargerait de la responsabilité de ses faiblesses récurrentes. Touche pas à mes rêves ! Conséquence inévitable, le rock progressif dit « classique » progresse peu et des groupes comme The Rebel Wheel s'offrent le luxe de sortir un second album malgré une immaturité encore trop évidente.
Ce groupe est – disons le tout net – au rock progressif séminal ce que la margarine est au beurre des Charentes. Il faudrait que ces Canadiens nous expliquent par exemple comment ils peuvent s'associer eux-mêmes à des influences telles que Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa, Genesis ou Rush, et offrir sans complexe un disque aussi mal dégrossi et un brin assommant ? Qu'ont-ils retenu des prestigieux visionnaires du passé sinon les notions vagues de « complexités » ou de « titres longs et à tiroirs » ?
De toutes évidences, ni la cohérence ni la finesse d'interprétation, ni non plus la volonté – souvent obsessionnelle chez les grands anciens – de bâtir des compositions solides à l'identité affirmée. Manquant cruellement de feeling et de vision, We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks donne envie de changer définitivement de crémerie. L'album agace à force d'empiler maladroitement les idées et les styles – « protéiforme », mon œil ! Seules émergent quelques performances instrumentales, trop tapageuses pour être honnêtes.
Soit, The Rebel Wheel n'est pas tout de même si catastrophique. Il y a bien chez eux une volonté de moderniser le rock progressif. Sauf que... « ça ne le fait pas ». Trop lourd, trop distendu, trop maladroitement chanté, trop long, le disque peine à retenir l'auditeur jusqu'au bout. Dans le même style, les Chiliens de La Desooorden ou les Suédois de Ritual sont des formations contemporaines bien plus recommandables.
4/10
Christophe Manhès
It is not easy to label the third album of the Canadian band The Rebel Wheel. Perhaps the label progressive rock, in the true sense of the word, might be best to describe it, as these five musicians seem to be on an obstinate quest to renew the genre. Many different styles seem to have inspired them. According to their website, The Rebel Wheel has its roots in jazzy jam sessions, but we also can hear references to the irreverent (indeed: rebellious) side of King Crimson (Thrax period). Also Frank Zappa, Rush, ELP, Gentle Giant and the jazz rock of for example The Fents seem to have had influence on this quintet from Ontario.
Their search for renewal and unpredictability has resulted in an album with extremes. On the one side we have nasty riffs, dissonant chords, complex rhythms, unusual tonalities and quirky arrangements. The distorted, sometimes monotone voice of band leader David Campbell adds up to this heavy side of The Rebel Wheel. But there is also the other extreme: the dreamy and romantic tracks sung by Angie MacIvor. The contrast of these songs with the heavier ones, makes the warm and pleasant voice of MacIvor feel like a warm bath. Settling Of Bones, a wonderful track with atmospheric (Gilmourian) plucked electric guitars, is a good example. And then there is the funky and jazzy part of The Rebel Wheel, in which the band every now and then takes its time to do some jamming.
Next to singing, MacIvor steals the show with her saxophone improvisations, and virtuoso keyboard solo’s. At least, I think these solo’s are hers, but I am not sure it’s her, as the booklet is not always clear who plays what, and also Campbell does his share of keyboards. In any case, we deal here with musicians that know how to play their instruments individually, but who also know how to create a groovy collective. The leadership of drummer and percussionist Aaron Clark is very important in creating this swing.
We should also not forget to mention bassist Claude Prince, who recently joined the band and seems to be capable to play all kinds of styles. If he plays the fretless bass he sounds a bit like Jones Reingold (The Flower Kings, Third World Electric), when plucking and hammering his bass, he just like Mark King (Level 42) and at yet another point, it is as if Geddy Lee (Rush) personally played some part.
This musicianship makes it easier to bear the production of the album, which is rather dry, even for North American standards.
The extremes make it not that easy to listen to entire album in one go. You should definitely not turn it on as background music but really take the time for it, as if you are watching a movie. We Are In A Time Of Evil Clocks feels like a story, with different actors, sets and unforeseen plot changes. A bit like a concept album. In a sense it is, although not all the tracks fit in one story. The fact that the impressive The Discovery Of Witchcraft consists of seven parts, lasting more than half an hour, contributes to the movie-like sensation. In this epic, again heavy and large (mainly instrumental) parts are alternated with the dreamy, laid back vocal ones.
Despite its qualities, We Are In A Time Of Evil Clocks, is probably not an album which will convince a large audience. For many people, it might be too much having so many different extremes and styles on one disc. From a commercial point of view, The Rebel Wheel might want to make a clear choice: be a prog rock band or be a funky jazz band (or perhaps a jazz rock band), but not all of them at once.
I do like the album though and enjoyed discovering the sometimes hidden gems on it. But most of all, I would like to see them coming over to Europe for some live gigs: with the instrumental capacities of these musicians that really must be fun!
Conclusion: 7 out of 10
ERIK LAAN
The Review:
After almost a 3 year gap, Canadian progressive rock band The Rebel Wheel released “We Are In the Time of Evil Clocks” (in 2010). The line-up is different than Diagramma, as there’s new blood in the band Joining David & Angie are Aaron Clark (drums) and Guy Dagenais (bass). On this album, the band returns with a more eclectic sound. They’re one of those few new bands that truly defy classification, especially since the don‘t sound like any current band I’ve ever heard.
The sound on this album incorporates a dissonant and experimentation quality, found mainly (the Wetton years) of King Crimson. Imagine that era fronted by a female/male combination and you get an idea of what The Rebel Wheel sounds like.
The focal point of this album is the 7 part suite, “The Discovery of Witchcraft” (27:54). The fourth part starts out sounding like something that Goblin would have done around Suspira. My only (small) gripe is that this song wasn’t recorded as one track rather than a suite.
The title track (4:49) opens the album starts out with a droning sound that evolves into dissonant instrumentation. Ending off the album is “Evil Clocks 2” (2:47) has that same droning sound and ends the album perfectly.
My favorite track that I go back over and over is “Klak”. It’s one of the more dissonant songs on this album. It features vocals by David Campbell. David reminds me a little of Roger Waters when he sings the softer parts. The dissonant parts remind me of the chaotic section of King Crimson’s “Starless”.
Another favorite track of mine is “Settling Of Bones” which features vocals by Angie Maclvor and David does backing vocals here. It’s a hauntingly beautiful song and also the most mellow of the album.
In closing, I would highly recommend “We Are In The Time of Evil Clocks” to fans of the band as well as King Crimson (Red) and Roger Waters (Amused To Death). This one of the best and my favorite releases of 2010.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on May 31st, 2010
"Schräg" ist bei THE REBEL WHEEL Trumpf. Kopf und Gitarrist David Campbell, tüftelte unter Mithilfe von einigen befreundeten Musikern, zu denen unter anderem auch die Saxophon spielende und singende Angie Maclvor gehört, ein nicht gerade leichtverdauliches Progalbum aus, welches man heute wohl ziemlich anachronistisch bezeichnen würde. Der seltsame Titel wurde durch den kleinen Sohn des Bandleaders inspiriert, der ihm die Geschichte eines Wii-Spielers erzählte, der gegen eine teuflische Uhr antreten musste, gegen diese gewann, um anschließend, aus nicht näher genannten Gründen, sein Leben lang als Wal-Mart Verkäufer zu fristen (!). Ihr seht schon, die spinnen, die Amis.
Wie auch immer: So abstrus die Story hinter We Are In The Times Of Evil Clocks auch ist, musikalisch haben die Uhren von THE REBEL WHEEL vor circa 40 Jahren aufgehört zu ticken. Wer Gefallen an der abgedrehten Fusion Phase alter KING CRIMSON, genauer gesagt an deren Meisterwerk Red, findet, hat eine ungefähre Richtung. Dazu noch etwas GENTLE GIANT und ein Schuss zappaeske Eigenheiten und man weiß, wohin der Hase läuft. Der Opener und Titeltrack ist eine instrumentale Einleitung, bei der sich die Musiker warm spielen. Das anschließende "Klak" kann man nur als tiefe Verneigung vor KING CRIMSON verstehen, der dominante Basslauf lässt unweigerlich an "Starless" denken. "Wordplay" ist klassischer bis altbackener Progrock, ist relativ unaufregend, was auch das Saxophonsolo im Jam-Teil des Songs nicht ändert. Außerdem liegt der Gesang von Frau Maclvor ziemlich neben der Spur, was, ob nun gewollt oder ungewollt, einfach nervig klingt.
"Scales Of The Ebony Fish" ist wie die Nummer davor nicht gerade packend. Der knarrende Bass gibt durchweg den Ton an und der Rest der Band folgt in einen psychedelischen Jam. Mit "Settling Of Bones" folgt die Ruhe vor dem Sturm, oder so ähnlich. Ein Chill out Song mit sanften Frauengesang, der zum wegdriften einlädt. Im Prinzip waren die bisherigen Stücke aber nur Vorgeplänkel, denn mit "The Discovery Of Witchcraft" holen THE REBEL WHEEL zum breitflächigen Umschlag aus. Dreißig Minuten Vollbedienung in Sachen Jazzrock, anwählbar in sieben separaten Akten, Puuh! Verspielt melodisch, dann dissonant und schräg, mal seicht, mal aufgekratzt und natürlich haufenweise Instrumentalparts. Eine Spielwiese für alle Progkinder.
Leider ist das monströse Stück nicht ganz so packend, teilweise sogar langatmig. Die einzelnen Parts unterscheiden sich meist völlig und nur ein bestimmtes Melodiethema wird zweimal aufgegriffen. Eigentlich hat das Ganze mehr mit einem riesigen Jam zu tun, als mit einem einheitlichen Werk. Ich nehme mal stark an, das THE REBEL WHEEL nicht auf kommerziellen Erfolg setzen, dazu ist W.a.i.t.t.o.e.c., welches übrigens das dritte Album der Band ist, einfach zu altbacken und speziell und hat, für Rockverhältnisse, einen zu großen Jazz Anteil intus. Mucke für Progpuristen und Musiker!
Geschrieben von Thorsten Dieterle
Note:7.0/10 | In 2007, The Rebel Wheel released her second album, "Diagramma", album sounds very varied and innovative, even if not always easy to access. The group is the baby of the multi-instrumentalist David Campbell, a veteran of the Canadian music scene. AT his side, since the previous CD, the staff has severely changed. Exit the guitarist/keyboardist Paul Joannis, along with bassist Gary Lauzon, replaced a time by Claude Prince, who plays on the majority of the album (Campbell and a guest also play bass) and now by Guy Dagenais – who could play only on the first title. Furthermore, drummer Alain Bergeron has left the place Aaron Clark. The vocal parts are shared between David Campbell himself, with a warm and intimate stamp (vaguely reminiscent Roger Waters at the very beginnings of Pink Floyd) and Angie McIvor, light and medium voice is quite pleasant but not always very well placed (a little reverb him wouldn't hurt). The melodies are often difficult to remember, voice that somehow part of another instrument as arrangements. The song is sometimes scandé, sometimes susurré, sometimes trafficked to using electronic effects where Campbell, as on the second title, "Klak". Say it is matched to the mysterious atmosphere, sometimes even threatening that exists on one hand important album. There are several instrumental and, even if the majority of the songs is sung, the album leaves an important instrumental parties.
Musically, the rest group a UFO, so mixing any sort of influences, but the jazz and King Crimson, all combined periods are quite notable. Could add contemporary classical music. There is no doubt that David Campbell, founding member and principal composer of the music of The Rebel Wheel, like Robert Fripp group! Dissonants riffs, the typical stridences guitarist and Adrian Belew, his acolyte of the 80/90s, are quite frequent, with however less cumbersome than the last period of KC. But let's say that the rhythms and unexpected failures, jerky guitar riffs as very Jazz section with solo electric piano on "Invitations To The Dance", are relatively frequent. We have said, jazz is a fairly substantial effect, probably more here than in the past. This is reflected in the set of bass, battery (which may be sometimes quite powerful) and parts of Angie McIvor, which uses more saxophone instrument on "Diagramma".
Curiously, on the previous album, five members were credited to keyboards and this is no longer the case, with only Campbell and Singer/saxophonist Angie McIvor who support these instruments. Keyboards, let's talk, often consist of a mixture of old (head, as the chorus and the flute, mellotron sounds Hammond organ sounds minimoog types) and new (orchestral or modern squarely electronic, sweet, more aggressive, textures). Guy Mahl Nathan LeBlanc comes also play a virevoltant on the threatening "Scales Of The Ebony Fish", which the rate is quite slow and bluesy synth solo! Overall, the place held by these instruments seems a little less important than on "Diagramma". On the other hand, bass, which has always been important in The Rebel Wheel, it is even more on this new opus, where she gronde on many titles, which does not also prevent certain virtuosity. Grondante, thus could qualify this decidedly dark album, the point sometimes become difficult for an inclined to appreciate a certain dose of more classical melodies auditor music. AS such, the longest song, "Wordplay", is probably one of the less successful the vocal melody being somewhat difficult to follow, and the mix of funky riffs and the wanderings of the saxophone allied to the changing pace but jerky leads to a rather loose result. On the other hand, "Settling Of Bones" returned to this side both atmospheric and fundamentally original of The Rebel Wheel: percussion, step stamps of synths, who came from delicate arpèges crystalline electric guitar and, for once, a light, slightly Jazz melody sung by Angie McIvor.
The main course of this album is long suite "The Discovery Of Witchcraft" 30-minute which echoes a little song-under the previous CD, except that this time it's more of a suite of 7 clearly identified pieces. It starts with a title almost instrumental, heavy and dissonant, which sees happen scandées but aerial voice parts sung by duo on an accelerated pace. Along "Madnight" is generally in the same spirit with its tickings whisper, its huge bass, its strange sax parts, his unbridled guitar solo and his synths glazed, including even typed sounds "electro". The variety is however, and this suite contains also three headings calm Sung, relatively short, "Hags" (part 1-3) more or less mysterious atmosphere, dominated by classical or electric guitars to clear sound, and keyboards to the magnificent textures without percussion. Of the very welcome répits between other cuts more adjusted before final instrumental more brutal, which blends in an "Evil fixes Clocks 2" based on cold synths sounds mechanical and bourdonnants... A conclusion to the less experimental!
The Rebel Wheel has a good dose of originality and four musicians are very competent instrumentalists but their penchant for the dissonances and dramatic, even disturbing atmospheres, may end up tired the average listener rock progressive, while seeking the most aventureuses music will find certainly its content. Yet, David Campbell is also known to write beautiful, more apaisées parts while retaining a dose of mystery and originality. Perhaps we should to tip the balance a little more on this side in the future.
7/10
Chronique rédigée par Marc M parue le 27.04.2010
This has been translated from French; the original is here .
Even the debut of the year 2003 and the album entered "" Diagramma "is from 2007," in the time of evil clocks "the third publication of the Canadian band THE REBEL WHEEL." A review to the predecessor said: "" all in all a promising album and it can happily expect where it will lead the band with their next release. ""
Rightly. Because what has since developed, is a rough and at the same time gentle version of progressive rocks which based CRIMSON on KING lives close when the bulky moments of STEVE HACKETTs and by its occasional saxophone operations both removed reminds on VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, leads dodgy as a related degree - but not too tricky - jazz.
To join, particularly in the dreißigminütigen seven splitter "" Discovery Of Witchcraft", ambient influences and sound collages which would happen well in a surrealistisch style horror film. That is NATHAN confronted MAHLs guy LeBlanc as guest musician on a piece that fits into the image such as the massive bass playing is in the hands of just three bassist as well.
Despite of all fractions in tempo, hardness, and alignment, the album looks like a bad together set puzzle. You may miss a last remaining strictness recording acts as zerfaserte vision of game technically gifted prog enthusiasts. Unifying link is although far superior but very appropriate singing of Angie MacIvors, which is responsible for the coherent saxophone game not least the warm. THE REBEL WHEEL musical home have set up is homely one, which is not overcrowded. And they seem very there to feel. And with them the listener.
CONCLUSION: jazz rock, ruppigeren pages of progressive rocks, lyrical, flowing passages, mellotrongeschwängerte melancholy; THE REBEL WHEEL move within a range, and it can fill more than passabel. There is much to discover, while there is a time of evil watches. Although not always gear precisely interlocking enters, but is an extremely charming listening experience through its diversity and opinionated composition. Many quotes be made up to scharfkantigem feenhafter Schnuller JAWS music jazz. It is not boring, adopting it.
PS.: That "we are in the time of evil clocks" is somewhat divided with itself, also shows purely computational duration of tracks is 64 a.m., which Windows but stubbornly 60: 02 minutes displays runtime...""
Available through just for kicks. 12/15
Jochen König
This has been translated from German; the original is here .
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