Gerald Peter Project - 2022 - Incremental Changes Part 2

(54:39; Gridmusic)

Track list:
1. Prologue (7th Movement) 3:21
2. Enigma (8th Movement) 6:40
3. Flow (9th Movement) 4:29
4. Transformation (10th Movement) 5:00
5. Submerge (11th Movement) 6:19
6. Gleam (12th Movement) 4:57
7. Timeless (13th Movement) 4:46
8. Pulse (14th Movement) 5:50
9. Epilogue (15th Movement) 3:15
10. Finale (16th Movement) 10:02

Line-up:
Gerald Peter - keyboards, seaboard
Aaron Thier - drums
Julie Elven - vocals
with:
Martin Miller - guitars
Jordan Rudess - keyboards


Prolusion.
Austrian venture Gerald Peter Project is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Gerald Peter, and is more of a solo project than his bands Circle of Illusion and Inspirational Corner. "Incremental Changes Part 2" is the first full length album to be released under the Gerald Peter Project moniker, and was self released in the early summer of 2022.

Analysis.
It is quite the particular creation that Peter has crafted here, an album filled to the brim with engaging material that is instrumental in spirit yet with vocals as a key supporting element, and material that connect the dots and draw in impulses from most of the important styles of music that have inspired progressive rock bands past and present but also manage to add some distinct flavoring of his own. In terms of overall style, I guess symphonic progressive rock is the best description to use, although this is a production that does cover a few more bases.

The piano is a vital instrument throughout, with a bountiful of lead roles on just about all the compositions and is the instrument that to my ears at least supplies all of the vital motifs and core aspects of each composition. Peter is a master of the jazz tradition as well as the classical tradition it would appear, and both of these approaches are used throughout. On some occasions with more purebred excursions, on other occasions mixing it up a bit. For the more jazz-oriented excursions here, some fine support by drummer Thier emphasize the often playful and expressive character the composition has when stretching out into a more jazz-oriented and expressive mode.

The use of keyboards and synthesizers is just as vital, with the keyboards providing floating textures and dramatic surges as well as what one might describe as shredding in places, and one or more keyboards are cornerstones whenever the songs hits a more majestic surge or section. The synthesizers will often provide a more electronic touch to the proceedings, on occasion adding a borderline industrial feel to the parts in which it is applied. Some of the atmospheric undercurrents will probably come from synthesizers as well. How much of the overall tangent work that comes from the credited seabord I don't know, but mentioning the instrument and that it probably has a role in one or more of the aspects described in the keyboards and synthesizer descriptions is probably a given.

Careful application of what sounds like wordless vocal textures adds a delightful and at times borderline sacral feel to the material here, often a delicate contrast to the more forceful keyboard and synthesizer sounds and the more firm tones provided by the piano. Not a dominant element, but still a vital ingredient that adds an additional dimension to the landscapes explored here.

While often featuring powerful and dramatic passages and effects, there are also gentler and more careful sequences to enjoy on this production. This is a creation that use contrasts in a very good manner throughout too, both inside of each individual creation but also from one song to the next. And while symphonic progressive rock is the best manner in which to summarize the contents, at least in my book, we do get material here with a much stronger orientation towards jazz or jazzrock as well as one song that by plan or accident strikes me as being very much comparable to some of the score music the late Vangelis made for the dystopian movie classic Blade Runner as well.

Conclusion.
Gerald Peter Project's debut album "Incremental Changes Part 2" is quite the impressive creation, an engaging album that grabs your attention straight away and holds on tightly until the final delicate note reverbs signal the end of the journey. One of the most striking and impressive debut albums I have come across in quite some time, and a production that I suspect many fans of a more modern take on symphonic progressive rock will treasure just as much as I do. An album that will sit safely inside of my top ten album list from 2022 for sure.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, July 2022

Links:
http://www.geraldpetermusic.com/
http://www.gridmusic.at/