FabricationsHQ - Putting the Words to the Music
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    • The Wilson Brothers - Backstage at the Green, Kinross
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    • Hawkwind - 02 Academy, Glasgow
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  • Muirsical Conversations...
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  • FabricationsHQ Q&As With...
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    • Michael Jackson: The Alternative Verdict (Nov 2011)
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    • Finger Pointing (July 2010)
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    • Hey 'Banker', can you spare a dime? (February 2010)
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SiX BY SiX – SiX BY SiX
Picture
American singer - songwriter - multi-instrumentalist Robert Berry, best-known for his association with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer in 80s super-group 3 (there’s also an ongoing solo career, Alliance, The Greg Kihn Band and the recent brace of 3:2 album releases that embodied the musical spirit of his late friend, the aforementioned Keith Emerson), never does things by half.
 
In fact it’s usually by threes (a significant number in Berry’s musical life and successes).
 
And now he’s doubling that lucky number to hopefully roll sixes with an International super-group trio that have released an excellent, and highly creative, self-titled debut album.

SiX BY SiX feature Robert Berry (lead vocals, bass, keys) in the company of esteemed Canadian guitarist Ian Crichton (of acclaimed Canadian progressives SAGA) and renowned drummer Nigel Glockler (a 40 year veteran of British metal giants Saxon).
 
The roots of SiX BY SiX can be traced back to the mid-80s when Nigel Glockler and Berry were part of the sadly short-lived revamp of GTR, led by YES guitarist Steve Howe (there’s a later, secondary connection where Ian Crichton and Glockler contributed to some Asia recording sessions).
 
Flash forward through the decades to the present and a union that came via possible new band conversations between Robert Berry and his manager, subsequent contact with Ian Crichton, and the Nigel Glockler nod of approval to power the band behind the kit.
 
From such beginnings came SiX BY SiX, a guitar-led, progressively-framed and melodically hewn rock trio with an outstanding debut (part rock album, part rock-opera, a graphic novel based around the song’s storyline of one man’s internal journey to find answers and peace in an uncertain world, will follow in the autumn).

'Yearning to Fly' is an attention grabbing opener.
Lyrically a cry to not sit around while the world passes you by, the song musically encapsulates what SiX BY SiX are all about – strong, purposeful opening followed by shimmering light and heavy shade, all within a progressive and melodic framework, backed by a solid backbone with interesting rhythmic work (there’s some powerful drum work from Nigel Glockler on the album but it’s as much about syncopated rhythms and groove as it is the powerful, lock-it-all-down beats.
Ian Crichton’s highly distinctive guitar work is also as much a 'voice' of the SiX BY SiX sound as Robert Berry’s own distinct, and still strong, vocals.
 
Following number, 'China,' rocks like the proverbial; it’s angry and angular stylings, behind a powerful rolling drum pattern, musically match the finger-pointing ‘I see what you’re doing’ lyricism.

Eight-minute feature piece 'Reason to Feel Calm Again' moves from the scene-setting atmosphere of Ian Crichton's guitar cries (which have a decidedly Celtic pipes air about them) to a highly rhythmic set of verses before kicking up another gear with a Celtic meets new-age prog second section.
The song then returns to the opening guitar remarks, closing as atmospherically as it opened.

'Reason to Feel Calm Again' is one of many deceptively complex numbers; there’s many a song passage that will have the listener double-taking with "wait, how did they suddenly get from A to B there?”
The answer is by subtle but very quick-fire rhythmic shifts that herald in the key change or a different time signature.

'The Upside of Down' is a feisty melodic prog rocker, one that conjures a mix of 3 (keys are more prominent here but utilised as a texture, not a lead instrument) and latter-era Rush.
'Casino,' which follows, isn’t a contender for best song on the album, but its ever-shifting moods (it never really sits still, flitting from pseudo-funk prog to sections that are decidedly SAGA) make for one of the most interesting numbers on the album.
 
The acoustic and vocal vignette 'Live Forever' is both mid-album interlude and a provider of contrast, before a cathedral organ acts as intro to 'The Last Words on Earth.'
The latter, a heavier (and darker) offering, may have SAGA overtones but at its creative source are a clever use of dynamics and those aforementioned traits of light and shade. 
 
'Skyfall,' another to feature keys as punchy accentuation, is best described as four minutes of melodically framed contemporary rock with serious attitude (complemented by a change of pace middle 8 and following Ian Crichton solo).
 
'Battle of a Lifetime' starts as if we’re heading for atmospheric Dire Straits territory but, following a folksy/ Celtic acoustic verse, the song settles itself in to a mid-paced, rhythmic rock number that would sit comfortably on any progressively focussed Robert Berry solo album, accompanied by a fast-fingered and angular Ian Crichton solo. 
 
The six-minute 'Save The Night' ensures the album rocks out in as fine a fashion as it kicked off.
A dirty great lead riff and gritty chords are counterpointed by more melodic passages and an uplifting chorus before Ian Crichton soars in full, note-twisting flight as the band repeat and fade out (and fade back in) on empowering "gotta save the night... gotta hold tight!" vocal calls and uplifting "woah-oh" answers.

It's a fitting finale to an exceptional album by an extremely talented and clearly simpatico trio.
A creative blend of contemporary hard rock and prog that has, indeed, come up SiX BY SiX on those dice rolls.

Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ


Click here for Robert Berry's in-depth chat with FabricationsHQ about the SiX BY SiX band and album.

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