TUG OF WAR (E)

After Enchant released the superb album Blink Of An Eye (2002), this San Francisco based group around Doug Ott (guitars) and Ted Leonard (vocals), release the new album Tug Of War. They recorded the album with long time and well-respected band member Ed Platt (bass), Sean Flanegan (drums) - as the successor of the incredible Paul Craddick - and BIll Jenkins (keyboards). While Blink Of An Eye can be regarded as predominantly a Doug Ott-album, Tug Of War seems to be more like a group's effort, because several tracks have different credits. As Ott states, this album is more straightforward than its predecessor and therefore less interesting for prog rock fanatics. The ten songs are definitely Enchant, but it feels like there's something missing. It's the same feeling I had with Juggling 9 Or Dropping 10 (2000) which doesn't belong to my favourite Enchant-albums either. Maybe the new guitar sound doesn't appeal to me as much as the older did; maybe the melodies just don't have that distinct groove, I'm not sure. The production is quite all right, Leonard's vocals are still fabulous, Flanegan seems to be nearly as good as Craddick, Jenkins is playing good as well, but Platt's bass guitar seems to be mixed a little less in the fore than it used to be. Although the exquisite ballad Beautiful, the solid prog track Comatose and the Black Sabbath meets Dream Theater title track compensate for the more or less straight AOR rock songs Holding The Wind and Long Way Down, the other five tracks belong to the more 'ordinary' tracks of Enchant's music. The superb instrumental Progtology features Ott's guitar and somewhat old-fashioned, almost Mellotron-sample souding keyboards. There are some delightful duets between Jenkins and Ott on Queen Of The Informed. The special edition features the bonus live track Below Zero.

In conclusion I would say that Tug Of War is still a solid and fairly good album, but certainly not as astonishing nor as good as Blink Of An Eye or A Blueprint Of The World (1995). Anyway, these musicians are worthwhile listening to and you ought ro see them playing live on their upcoming tour.