Band: The Third Ending

CD Title: “The Third Ending”

Band Website: www.thethirdending.com

Label: ProgRock Records

Label Website: www.progrockrecords.com

Release Date: 2007

It was back in 2002 on a small island just off the coast of Australia, called Tasmania that the seeds of The Third Ending were sown. Their influences included the wide ranging styles of Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, Spock’s Beard and Dream Theater. But as with so many things down under, the influences become so absorbed that it’s difficult to actually hear them. By the same token the outgrowth of that inspiration takes on a very original and unique approach. Such is the case with this band’s self titled first release The Third Ending.

This quartet from Hobart, Tasmania consists of Nick Storr (vocals, keyboards, guitars), Andrew Curtis (guitars, backing vocals), Cornel Ianculovici (bass, backing vocals) and Andrew Knott (drums, backing vocals). One of the things you notice from the line-up right off the bat is that all four contribute to the vocals and that in and of itself makes from some great vocal passages. It is from this aspect that many of the songs gain their strongest feature, melody. But fear not, while these are song based compositions, there is plenty of room to display their musical chops.

The musical approach for The Third Ending revolves around building a mostly mid-tempo melancholy tension that hooks the ear. Their compositions balance electric and acoustic guitars to suit that tension. There are interesting “pregnant pauses” that lead to satisfying culminations. Many of the tracks feature Mellotron-like string or choir patches floating in the background adding to the drama. It’s in the overall nature of the music that the Porcupine Tree feel comes across the strongest, but they ad their distinctive multi-part vocals as well as many other influences to make it their own. None of these songs is overly long. In fact the longest is just over seven-minutes. Although it must be said that many of the songs are linked together giving the feel they seem longer than they actually are, especially the last seven-cuts. A good many production values are thrown at these pieces with sound effects and voices showing up in the various tracks. A song may start out with this effect which then leads to a softer acoustic introduction which then evolves into a melodic, majestic, anthemic section before devolving into a more spacey solo section. Interestingly the production avoids a wall-of-sound style leaving lots of breathing room. Nothing is really overdone.

The Third Ending is a fresh take on the progressive rock style. They’ve managed to incorporate a good many of the classic elements and repackage them with a very youthful slant. In fact it caught the attention of my daughter’s friend while listening to it in the car. The band’s style has the ability to cross a wide range of age barriers. For a first release this is a really great effort. It’s stayed on my player a long time. I really love it. Fans of the bands mentioned will I think really get into this, but don’t be afraid to play it for your non-prog friends. The Third Ending gets a strong recommendation.