SYMBIOSIS (E)

Vestal is a one man band from the USA. However, my attempts to find more information about this artist failed. All music was composed and for the most part performed by Thomas Vestal. No one less than producer Bob Katz was responsible for the mastering of Symbiosis. While listening to this album one can only sit back, letting the music take you away and leave you wondering why there are so many talented musicians around you haven't heard of! State Of Flux opens with guitar, bass and some keyboards in a melody that reminds me a bit of Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult, but it quickly transcends into something more progressive with nice but heavy guitar riffs and delightful soloing on the keyboards with Moog-like sounds. There are many variations in rhythm patterns and also references to Dream Theater. It’s difficult to say if I would have had the same criticism if I wouldn’t have known this was a project by one musician, but somehow both the instruments and some of the melodies seem a bit isolated. Sometimes the integration is missing and the music doesn’t really flow. In the second track Crystal Phase it seems that the piano made the foundation for this composition and was arranged in a later stage. The atmosphere and some of the sounds are the same as in the Rudess Morgenstein Project, although in this case there are a real bass and a guitar as well. The Cataclyst is a track in the same vein with nice keyboard layers and organ. Vestal proves that he can play the bass and the guitar quite well, the guitar being the predominant instrument. The drum sounds however, are a bit too ‘busy’ for my ears. There seems to be more breaks than a more or less constant rhythm pattern. The title track could also be described as a mix between Dream Theater and the Rudess Morgenstein Project although Vestal cannot compete with the individual qualities of the instrumentalists in the aforementioned bands, but then again: who can? In Resistance at first there’s a piano, followed by a piece of progressive jazz rock with some minor fragments of ambient music. The longest track, the epic Metamorphosis opens with keyboard dominated music and although some of the melodies are performed by the guitar, there’s a major role for both piano and organ. Lots of soloing by synths sounding a lot like a crossover between pipe organ and a Fairlight synthesizer. Instead of building up to a grand bombastic finale, the music fades away softly.

I wonder what Vestal could achieve as a songwriter and guitarist-keyboardist in a good band, like Kerry Livgren in Kansas for example. Symbiosis is proof of an abundance of original ideas and definitely a calling card to be proud of from a not to be underestimated multi-instrumentalist! I’m sure this is not the last bit of music from Vestal, but in my opinion this artist could benefit from a more intensive participation of other musicians as well as from someone who could co-write with him. This could provide a more natural band sound and could make his compositions a bit more accessible. This approach could compromise the freshness and boldness of all his ideas but still I think it would be worth considering. Highly recommended for fans of the Rudess Morgenstein Project, The Jupiter Project and certainly of interest to fans of rather mellow instrumental Dream Theater music, It's not a coincidence that Jordan Rudess plays in all three acts!