There’s a world of difference between the music being developed in the US and the music being developed in the rest of the world. And, for many around the world, the US is distinctly in second place, unless Jazz Z and the Jonas Brothers float your boat, in which case, don’t bother contacting me to discuss musical interests. However, you do occasionally run into things that give you musical pause, and a flash of hope for the future. I recently had one of these experiences, and it came from "effin" New Jersey, of all places.

Now I’m not saying there’s nothing of interest musically in New Jersey. Operatika resides in the Garden State, but, even they were transplanted there from Ukraine and Moscow. But an interesting little CD recently dropped in my lap and, before looking at the accompanying text, I made the mistake of listening. And it sure sounded like traditional European Gothic to me. Good instrumental work, a nice soprano, even some relatively interesting lyrics. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the supporting material and saw that it had originated with two Americans in New Jersey. So, I immediately headed to the e-mail program and sent off an inquiry. The response was not long in coming. Stephen Megna, a musician and novice song writer informed me that the band was him and a lady he’d met, Tara, a soprano, who also had a band with similar interests. They got together, compared musical interests, which tend to revolve around bands like Nightwish and Epica, and sat down and put together some thoughts. Several long months later, we have 2012, and it’s really pretty good.

Megna has been a drummer for many years, and that seems to be the strongest instrument on many of the titles here. However, he also learned guitars and keyboards, at least enough to make some fairly interesting segments with those instruments, backed up by some really good drumming. The vocals are not Tarja level operatic, but then, whose are? They are good however, and don’t exhibit the accent that many Europeans are cursed with. You can understand every word.

The theme for 2012 is the Mayan Calendar, and the prophecies surrounding it. That theme leads to some interesting lyrics, some of them pretty dark in the true tradition of the European Gothic. There is a strong use of the keys to provide an epic, atmospheric tone to many of the songs. The guitars seem to be less influential but appear whenever a solid riff is required.

2012 opens with The Dark Rift. It’s pretty European sounding with the keys providing a haunting passage straight from a Romanian castle. A nice sounding intro that leads to the second track, The Next Atlantis. And here our two musicians introduce us to the focus of the music. There are surging drums that drive the music, some guitars and the keys that provide the "other worldly" feel to the song. Tara does some nice vocals, overlaid on a couple of occasions. The message is sure different from the traditional American lyric:

Stars are falling from the heavens unto the Earth
Cities shake burn and fall to the sea with black ash
Chaos is erupting in the heavens and Earth
This is what the ancients warned
Destruction and corruption
Mankind must rid itself of greed and gluttony or become the next Atlantis

It’s an interesting message, one most Americans can probably handle. Megna allows as how much of his information came from the History Channel so we would hope that this isn’t information beyond the ability of Americans to comprehend. In fact, there is something of a political message attached to the more ethereal one, which makes it even more interesting. And, the musical vehicle utilized to deliver that message makes it all the more satisfying.

There are some musical diversions that take place within the CD. A Drink From the Nile is one of these. Here we get an Eastern feel to the music. A Middle Eastern feel that is. It comes from the keys for the most part and demonstrates a truly interesting capability to approximate a musical direction that would seem to be beyond the ability of most Americans to appreciate in these days of Muslim hating. Tara does a fine job on this one of correlating the vocals with the music. Again, the drums shine, they generally do, and the guitars get a solid opportunity to shine. Megna suggests his keys and guitars are relatively basic, but on this number, they move beyond that somewhat limiting evaluation.

Blood Lust takes us to a European Gothic sound. Crushing keys over a pounding drum introduce the number. The vocals are almost Dutch, a solid soprano, with some overlaid segments, but always over the thundering drum line. Magna is a drummer first and foremost, and we hear that thunder here. The message also approximates the Western European direction:

You’ve taken all sincerity
And nailed it in the grave
The thunder sings
My blood weeps
Come and save me
Skies turning darker
Heavy rains set in
Will I lose the sound of your song
I feel the warmth of your ripped clothes on my face
Closer to you I emerge

There is the occasional ballad. My Apocalypse takes us in this direction. Again, the keys are better than we might expect. The vocals are among the best of the CD. Tara seems extremely comfortable with this direction and the lyrics fit the overall sound. This is a relatively strong vocal, maybe one of the best on the CD. A plaintive cry, one of desperation, one that reaches the soul, something I wasn’t aware Americans could do these days. And truly lovely.

There is some nice diversification to the music. The 10th Planet is a rocker. Heavy on the guitars, I guess Magna wanted an opportunity to turn loose the axe. It’s the most heavily guitar oriented number on the CD, and it takes Tara into metal land. And it’s truly satisfying metal at that.

The CD in general is relatively comfortable for listeners who typically appreciate the music described and available from this site. That in itself is interesting since this is a purely American production. Even more interesting is the fact that the entire CD is a result of the efforts of just two people. I had to ask several times to verify that fact, but, I am assured that is the case. But most importantly, it proves that really good music can originate in the US. And things like that should be supported. We need all the help we can get. This is surely a step in the right direction.

9 / 10