Member:
ffroyd
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by ffroyd)
Date:
9/17/2002
Format:
CD (Album)
Gratto is a band out of Eerie, Pennsylvania who've recently released a brand new CD. Well, actually the music on Anakin Tumnus isn't all that new. The project has been around since 1996 and has only recently been resurrected and completed. This isn't exactly a band either. Gratto is the nickname of the keyboardist/vocalist/songwriter, the band has kind of inherited that name as well. They are calling this release an EP but at 36 minutes, I've seen many full length albums that were shorter. Even though there seems to be quite a bit of intrigue here, one thing is no mystery to me: THIS CD ROCKS!
The history of this release dates back several years to when Gratto auditioned to join the band Leger de Main. Although the brothers Chris and Brett Rodler appreciated his talents, they decided to keep Leger de Main a trio. Gratto did keep in touch with the band and has contributed keyboards to a few of their songs. Chris Rodler had returned the favor by engineering and playing guitar for a project Gratto was working on. He also brought in brother Brett to lay down some amazing drum tracks as well as the incredible bassist from RH Factor, Gary Madras.
The music on Anakin Tumnus is very powerful and fast-paced with emotionally charged lyrics. One thing that always amazes me when I listen to the CD is how quickly time passes while listening to it. It's always over too quickly, a true sign of greatness. The influences of prog's finest like Yes, Gentle Giant, Rush and Tull are quite evident here but there's also plenty of originality to make it an extremely interesting listen. Gratto has a very unique voice and Chris Rodler's guitar playing can be very explosive at times. One of the things that impressed me the most about the music was how full and beautiful the keyboard sounds are. It turns out that the grand piano and organ were recorded in a church and they sound absolutely magical.
I would highly recommend this to fans of modern progressive rock bands like Echolyn and Spock's Beard. Even though the music on this was written several years ago, it sounds very fresh. I hope it doesn't take another six years to hear more from Gratto. You can check out this CD and others from bands like Leger de Main, RH Factor, Andeavor, Quest and more through the Progressive Music Management web site.
Member:
llorenth
Date:
10/17/2003
Also from PMM, and also featuring the Rodler brothers, this album is VERY different from Mythologic. Largely the child of pianist/organist/songwriter Gratto, Anakin Tumnus has been in the works for years - I had an MP3 of “Call and Response” as early as ‘98, and loved it then. Thus I’ve been waiting for this release for many years.
The style is very dramatic, powerful, complex progressive rock. The three lengthy tracks (total time - around 36 minutes) vary considerably in mood. If you are familiar with Echolyn, then the musical and vocal approach will be *somewhat* familiar. Gratto’s voice is not terribly strong (and this has been pointed out as a weakness), but I find it’s brittle charm carries the emotions very effectively, likely because these are Gratto’s own words. There’s a lot of spoken stuff as well as sung material, and the delivery of all is quite convincing. The concept of this EP is really about Christian salvation, but the message is presented in a way that is both intensely personal to Gratto (and thus not preachy) and slightly obscure (it won’t hit you over the head).
The center-piece of the music is almost always Gratto’s grand piano or organ playing, but at times the musicianship reaches that frantic complexity that is a sure sign of the Rodlers at work. Along with Gary Madras on bass, the Rodler brothers back Gratto and flesh out his vision, providing swirling percussion, dissonant and wild guitar lines, and laser precise bass lines. All three songs are great, but the best is the first one I ever heard, “Call and Response”: the tale of a man’s doubt and God’s faith, told at times from both perspectives in an infectious counterpoint. There’s elements of classic prog rock, Broadway musical, blistering intensity, some Echolyn-esque vocal harmonies, and Peter Hammill-ish emotional outpouring.
The album sports a wide dynamic range of sounds, from solo piano to wildly thrashing and dissonant guitar parts, upbeat Yes-like moods and dark King Crimson-like passages. I’ve been awaiting this release for quite a long time. While I expected a full album, not an EP, the music is certainly dense and varied enough to be worth the wait.
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