Also see: Erik Norlander ~ Progfest 2000
From: Elias Granillo, Jr.
I highly recommend the Rocket Scientists' second CD, "Brutal Architecture,"
featuring Erik Norlander on keyboards. They're another Los Angeles outfit. Great
songwriting & killer melodic hooks blend with a cerebral sensibility and gell into a
killer disc, simply put. Another refreshing thing about the Rocket Scientists is, while
they're all pretty much bordering on virtuosic in their own right, it's *not* a show-off
disc. The primary motif is to sound like a *band.
From: "E-Man" <>
> From: <>
> lesser ratings: 5.5 stars (out of 10) "Erik Norlander"
"Rocket Scientists"
> If you have a taste for the mediocre, for music that doesn't go anywhere or do
anything, then these bands are for you. I found their musical ideas interesting, but in
the end, they never did anything with them. It was like sex without a climax. Every song
has a different idea, but you can pretty much know the whole song from the 1st 60 seconds
of it. Erik Norlander may be a gifted keyboard player, but a gifted composer he aint. You
don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure these guys out.
Just how long were these wave files (only sixty seconds, or longer?); e.g., you're
not going to get the idea of the eleven-minute opus, "Mariner," (from the Rocket
Scientists' _Brutal Architecture_ album) from the first sixty seconds of it (it helps if
you also know the lyrics, and Erik explains the tune in the liner notes). You're not going
to hear all of Erik's ideas on his excellent instrumental album, _Threshold_, unless you
actually *listen* to it. He's quite a player AND composer, and refreshingly, it doesn't
sound like a Wakeman/Moraz/Emerson solo endeavor; Erik very much has his own style, and
_Threshold_ covers a lot of terrain in under fifty minutes, stylistically speaking. It
just requires some deeper listening.
From: "upnsm0ke" <>
> From: Mark Fonda <>
> np: Rocket Scientists 'Earth Below and Sky Above: Live in Europe and America' - a
great live peformance by Eric Norlander and company.
Funny, I was unaware this was released last year! I thought it was a new studio album
at first. It's a very cool document of their performance at the German Progressive Rock
Festival in Bruchsal in Spring, 1997. It seems to be unabridged, or is just masterfully
edited to make everything flow right along (tracks are indexed), but between-song banter
by guitarist-vocalist Mark McCrite and keyboardist-vocalist Erik Norlander apparently
justifies the absence of studio trickery, giving it a 'high-quality-bootleg' feel. Mark
McCrite produced it, so all instruments are reasonable balanced and the sound is very
clear and warm.
The first twenty-odd minutes of the 73min. disc are great, with sudden segues into tracks
that suggests the near-telepathic chemistry these guys share (drummer Tommy Amato and
stick-man Don Schiff complete the quartet). "Dark Water (Pt. 1)/Earthbound"
conjure great quasi-Floydian shades wrapped in a McCrite/Norlander tortilla before falling
into Erik's opening mellotron line for "Wake Me Up." Great stuff. The Rocket
Scientists aren't really into showing off, from what I can tell. They actually focus on
songwriting without forsaking the prog approach. Don't expect only the rudiments from RS,
though, there are plenty of complex organ & synth leads from Erik and Don's bass lines
are quite tasty, with many a nod to Floyd, Yes and ELP.
Another thing I respect Mark McCrite for is being a great singer while singing WITHIN his
own range, without forcing his pipes to sound like anybody from Klaus Meine (haha) to
Fish/Collins/Gabriel/Hogarth, etc. Mark McCrite sounds like Mark McCrite, and his baritone
actually lends more power to the RS' tunes. His vocals on "Earthbound" and the
haunting mellotron-mainstay "Mariner" really pay off.
'Earth Below and Sky Above' boasts a great, less-polished "Mariner" (originally
from 'Brutal Architecture') and features guest vocalist Lana Lane on two tracks,
"Stardust" (previously unreleased) & "Avalon" from
'Earthbound----the latter is transformed into an utterly beautiful track, thanks to her
siren-like vox and (dare I say it) the track's 'pop' sensibility. Rounding out the live
album are two medleys (one showcases instrumentals from Erik's solo, 'Threshold'),
"The Fall of Icarus," "Picture Show," Millennium 3" and
"Calm Before The Storm." This would be a good intro item for those just checking
out the RS.
From: David Kuznick <>
> I've read some great reviews about this band here lately.So since music blvd.gave
me another $10 coupon I went in to look.They carry one cd-"Brutal
Architecture".Can anyone tell me about that release?
Definitely the one to get. Lots of great complex music interwoven with more
accessible stuff; not unlike Spock's Beard but with even more of a keyboard-centric sound.
A goodie.
From: "Craig Shipley" <>
Well, I agree with David, but, if they have it, get
THRESHOLD by Eric Norlander, who is the RS's keyboardist. THRESHOLD still blows me away
after two years. Keyboards (including modular Moog and Mellotron 400) / bass / drums and
completely instrumental. The opener sounds alot like "Threshold" by The Steve
Miller Band (I think that is the one that opens FLY LIKE AN EAGLE. Or was it BOOK OF
DREAMS?); wonder if that is where Norlander got the title from? Songs are moderately long
(6 to 10 minutes, no 25 minute opuses here) and are, ahem, "rocket-fueled"
(Sorry, owwww, I said I'm sorry! Stop hitting me!!!) CD clocks in right around 50 minutes
and Norlander got some unknown by the name of Keith Emerson to write a bit o' codswallop
in the liner notes. (Doesn't Emerson make them cheap-o stereos and clock radios? ;-) ).
From:
> After what I consider a satisfactory purchase in Ad Infinitum, I'm
interested in purchasing some more KINESIS label stuff.
Rocket Scientists!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brutal Architecture kicks w/o any metallic
crapola!
From:
"upnsm0ke" <>
> np:Rocket Scientist-Oblivion Days
Kickass disc, huh? Their best one yet, by far.
From: Mike De Lang <>
I agree. With Arjen Anthony Lucassen playing on most of the tracks, this release
should appeal to alot of Ayreon fans as well. An excellent disc!
From: "Carlos Lima" <>
Other American highly
recommended recent prog-album is the new Rocket Scientists'
"Oblivion Days", with A.A.Lucassen (Ayreon) playing some guitars on it. And what a difference he makes in the sound of the band...
From: Jeff Marx <>
No question about it....Oblivion Days is one of the hottest things to come down
the pike lately. Will Arjen finally play some live dates if Rocket Scientists
tour this album? If he finishes his Ayreon projects by March/April...he's
considering it....
From: "Carlos Lima" <>
Any sci-fi fans out there? Perhaps I have some interesting details about the new
Rocket Scientists' album - Oblivion Days - for you: The album includes an
outstanding version from what I think is the main theme from the old seventies
TV-series "Space: 1999". Erik Norlander plays some of his best
keyboards in this track, with Arjen Lucassen propelling the music with his heavy
rythm guitar. Wow!!! How an outstanding combination, this is... The bonus track,
included in the Japanese release, is also a good one, but it only lasts for 4
min. and I don't think it worth the extra buck$ asked for it... Just consider
saving some money with the upcoming european release of the album...
From: "Chris Bekhuis" <>
case of RS they did that very convincingly on their Brutal Architecture album. I
had high hopes for these guys until they churned out the Oblivion Days album
which saw them heading into the same musical (and muscular) direction as Lana
Lane (for which RS's Erik Norlander also writes the tunes). From quite an
original, fresh sound they switched to run-off-the-mill progmetal :-((((
From: "upnsm0ke" <>
Subject: Re: Re: Rocket Scientists neoprog?? Not me :-)
I think you mean the same musical direction as current Ayreon... _Oblivion Days_
was great, I recall getting that around roughly the same time as Dream Theater's
_SFaM: Metropolis II_ and _Oblivion Days_ got a lot more spin-time! I know what
you mean about Erik's writing taking the wrong turn at the fork in the road; it
did start when he hooked up with A.A. Lucassen, and now post-OD Norlander and
post-ItEC Ayreon sound dangerously alike. I bought _Into The Sunset_, aware of
what I was getting into, but it *was* the Jpn. edition with the 17-min. bonus
track (for only $15), and Lana telling me roughly half of the disc was
instrumental kind of helped, too (of course, that's not the case with _ItS_),
since I dig _Threshold_ so much. Both of the last two Ayreon albums (Dream
Sequencer/...Migrator) and _ItS_ share the same, cold, sterile ambience--they
just sound way too slick--and both sound like they were recorded simultaneously,
and in the same studio(s)); plus, I don't doubt either Erik/Arjen could have had
a problem claiming authorship to the other guy's album(s)! I'd like Erik to do a
_Threshold II_ and knock it off with the wannabe prog/prog-metal fineline walk.
I won't be buying any Erik solo, anymore, nor Ayreon, unless I hear they kick
serious booty. Since Erik isn't the only writer in Rocket Scientists, I'll
continue to check them out.
From: "Wade C. Boring" <>
Subject: Re: Re: Rocket Scientists neoprog?? Not me :-)
I gotta agree, I bought Into The Electric Castle and pretty much liked it, but
Flight of the Migrator left me cold. I was also not real impressed with Lana
Lane's latest effort. I've always thought that too much drop D tuning makes all
the songs sound alike. In small doses it can be cool for a dark mood kinda
thing, but after the third or fourth song - blech. I hope that its a phase they
will get out of. I've been real leary of getting any new Norlander or Rocket
Scientists because of my disappointment with Ayreon and Lana.
From: "Lanzarini" <>
Subject: RE: Re: Rocket Scientists neoprog?? Not me :-)
Norland's solo career has this approach IMO: prog-metal and sometimes hard rock.
Imagine a Deep Purple "more" progressive.
Their best effort is their second release and IMO their guitarist don't let the
sound go to metal.
Hmm... I see a "what-is-neoprog" debate coming on BUT.... Rocket
Scientists are in my book not a neoprog band but they fall into the category of
Third Wave Prog: 90s bands who besides some 80s neo elements also draw on
earlier forms of prog and even 60s elements. In case of RS they did that very
convincingly on their Brutal Architecture album. I had high hopes for these guys
until they churned out the Oblivion Days album which saw them heading into the
same musical (and muscular) direction as Lana Lane (for which RS's Erik
Norlander also writes the tunes). From quite an original, fresh sound they
switched to run-off-the-mill progmetal :-((((