It's nice having labels. I don't mean in order to pigeonhole bands I mean, if you go into the supermarket to buy a tin of beans it's nice to see a nice big informative label on the front proclaiming its contents: 'BEANS'. And so it is with this CD. Look on the back and I can see straight away: 'ProgRock Records'. OK. The 'tin' also tells us that they're a three piece. But be careful with your maths because PROG + 3 PIECE doesn't equal Rush. Despite the band listing Rush amongst their influences along with Porcupine Tree, Dream Theatre and Spock's Beard if I had to place this lot anywhere it would be closer to Queensrÿche. Although vocalist Chase Carter is missing Geoff Tate's upper supersonic range he certainly does have a similar vibrato. The brains behind the outfit are drummer Jeff Vaughan and bassist Vince Buonassi - put them together and what have you got? Vaughanassi or Vonassi geddit!

'The Drudge' commences the CD but is anything but a drudge. Phased guitars and melodic bass thread their way through this track with the bass punching out an irregular It Bites type of syncopation. The odd time signature is nicely managed in that it doesn't draw attention to itself and stays nicely camouflaged within the song.

'Gini' is a cool delicate mix of piano, acoustic guitar and filthy, filthy bass - a bit like the Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage'. And in its softer, acoustic moments the song reminds me a little of Kansas. Vocal harmonies and acoustic guitar introduce 'Beginnings' which, to me, illustrates well the Queensrÿche influence as this track proves to be a distant cousin of 'Della Brown'.

For a track with perhaps the heaviest riff on the album 'Strong Arm Welfare' turns out to be the weakest. The verses start promisingly but the choruses feel a little wayward and a little lost. Choruses aside the track picks up again with a hot wah wah solo courtesy of vocalist Carter followed by frantic bass and guitar interplay which shifts down a gear into a slow hypnotic tempo.

'Posing For The Cold' is a short acoustic track which seamlessly flows into 'The Battle Of Ego' - so successful is the transition that you'd be forgiven for thinking them to be the same song. And that's exactly what they are. And it doesn't stop there. When the segue continues into next track 'Authenticity' which marks the end of this 3 track (but really 1 track) mini-opus.

Next up 'Open Hands' is a bit flat due to a combination of linear arrangements and finicky time signatures flooded with a lexicon of awkward words. 'In The Mirror' improves matters by utilising some great vocal melodies but is let down by a poor out of character and over-effected solo section which brings back awful memories of 4-track recordings and early 90s Yamaha effects units.

After the dip the album finishes strongly starting with a funky track called 'The Now Game' which makes the most out of clever chordal inversions and a straight drum beat which lasts nearly the whole nine yards. 'Field Of View' has commercial faintly Nik Kershaw melodies overlaying jittery bass. The album ends with 'Coiled', which excels in its straightforward beats but, given three long minutes to fill before the track ends, it gives into prog-temptation, and throws off the shackles and going anywhere and everywhere.

'The Battle Of Ego' then is well worth checking out for any die-hard prog fans out there. But Vonassi are perhaps a shade too niche to have as much mass appeal as their idols enjoy or to find their way into the typical Über Röcker's collection.

http://www.myspace.com/vonassi

http://www.progrockrecords.com/