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"We've added it to our playlist!"
Guy Ferri @ Delicious Agony
-Walking Through Walls-
"Pravda comes out of the gate smoking, immediately letting you know
it's a force to be reckoned with on 'Walking Through Walls', the band's second release.
Djam Karet seems to be
a benchmark that bands of this ilk are measured against and this Pacific Northwest quartet holds up well. Stripped of Djam
Karet's exotic Middle Eastern aural imagery, Pravda is more of a meat-and-potatoes style of hard-edged melodic instrumental
fusion with an exceptional balance between virtuosic guitar and keyboards. There's a larger metal element than on the previous
disc with faster tempos that build to anthemic crescendos.
Each of these four highly skilled musicians is featured
in individually self-penned compositions handling all instrumental chores. Although these selections tend to be slightly
weaker, it does add variety and a brief respite from the full-frontal beast Pravda has evolved into.
This all hangs
together considerably well, void of wasted moments. 'Walking Through Walls' is an exhilarating romp from start to finish.
(14&1/2 stars out of 16) Warren Barker - Progression Magazine - Issue 51 Spring/Summer 2007.
"There's obvious
Rush in "After the Deluge," but the grandiosity of "Excursion" is more akin to Dream Theater ideals.
..this is a rather cool local band. Pravda cranks its tunes with utter art-rock sincerity, pursuing a genre that most Idaho
musicians would never dare attempt."
-Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman 9/29/06
"I played "Edge
of Fire" last night, absolutely fantastic song! That one should go over the top when you play live."
-Kenny
Solomon - Progressive Soundscapes Radio 9/06/06
"'Edge Of Fire' opens the album with a bang, with tightly
synchronized guitars, drums and bass creating an unrelenting propulsion of sound. K.C. Thomsen's keyboards add some nice seasoning
to what would otherwise be a fairly straightforward rock instrumental. The song presents a band unafraid to mix things up,
with smooth tempo changes and shifts in mood, swinging from the heavy introductory section to a slower, spacey movement reminiscent
of Pink Floyd. The powerful Excursion is a heavy rocker with loads of Thomsen keyboards and some very crunchy rhythm guitar
courtesy of Chris Holman. The song is another example of the band's use of contrasts; heavy sections interspersed with more
laid back, quieter movements. This use of contrast keeps things interesting, and makes for an enjoyable active listen. Lhasapsodic
follows, and the Rush influences are very strong here; Holman's guitar often sounds eerily like Alex Lifeson's tone on Rush's
1990s albums. "
~Bill Knispel Progscape.com 10/06~
"..there's a lot to enjoy on this album. These
guys have chops to spare, and those chops are in evidence everywhere. Interestingly enough, they've abandoned the guest singer
(Steve Brown) they used on their first album and even the backing vocals also featured on that album, figuring (I assume)
that the music could do the talking. And it does (animals sounds excepted). Judging both from the photographs in the CD booklet
and the sound of the album, these guys are in their late thirties or early forties and no doubt are influenced by the great
Seventies progressive bands that most of us venerate. I can hear echoes (not allusions to or quotations from) late-Seventies
Genesis and perhaps even earlier King Crimson in some of the songs here.But what I hear most is lots of very, very hard work.
This is a tight, serious instrumental progressive-rock band... But in a year (who'd have thought the world would come to
this?) when Nickelback seems set to win the Band-Of-The-Year Grammy award, an ambitious if perhaps slightly misguided group
like Pravda is not only refreshing but also welcome".
GERALD WANDIO DPRP 3/07
-The Echoing
Sounds-
"Musically, The Echoing Sounds has some nice touches,
re. the pipe organ intro to ' The Echoing
Sounds of Life',
the truly heavy symphonic stomp of 'Saving Your Soul'
and the Hammond-spiced melodic swing of 'Followers'.
'Omnipontent
Struggle' is a cool symphonic instrumental
with soaring guitar and synth leads, 'Peacemind' possesses a superb radio-friendly
melody. Pravda (has a) compelling knack for arrangement and orchestration."
-John Collinge- editor in chief, Progression
magazine, Winter/Spring 2004.
"The Echoing Sounds will appeal to neo-prog fans who also enjoy heavier and
harder edge music."
-www.hamanaka.com '05
"Melodramatic prog rock.....ambitious".
-Michael
Deeds-The Idaho Statesman. '03
Read about Pravda in Progression Magazine Issue 51 Spring/Summer 2007
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