| The
Review |
There are some who still think that the lyrical content
of progressive rock is only about “dragons and fairies.” Perhaps
that betrays more about their own bias than they’re prepared
to admit. I’ll tell you one thing; they aren’t listening to
what’s out there. Take for example a band like Prymary and
their concept CD entitled The Tragedy of Innocence, which
retells the story of a woman who was abused as a young child.
The story is based on a series of true events and is in some
ways lyrically difficult to take in. Which I think was the
band’s objective. ***
Based in Southern California, Prymary came together in
2000 and released their first self titled recording in 2003.
The Tragedy of Innocence is their second release. This five-piece
group consists of Mike Di Sarro (vocals), Sean Entrikin (guitars),
James Sherwood (bass), Smiley Sean (keyboards) and Chris Quirarte
(drums). It is Quirarte’s wife Valerie whose story is being
retold. The band have managed to build a loyal following by
their touring efforts, performing on stage with the likes
of Fates Warning, King’s X, Spock’s Beard and Enchant. They’ve
also managed to hit a few of the heavier festivals as well.
***
Musically The Tragedy of Innocence’s hour and twelve
minutes covers a lot of ground, and while the foundation is
a guitar-heavy prog that borrows a lot from the prog-metal
sub-genre, ultimately it’s so much more musically. Because
of the concept nature of the piece, there are plenty of other
styles such as the ballad “Miracle”. But while the guitars
take a prominent spot, the keyboards are mixed well up front
as well, and play a key compositional role. So this is much
more than just a shred fest. It’s plenty heavy and crunchy
when the story needs to have that quality, but lighter at
other times. The guitar takes on many shades and many tones.
As do Di Sarro’s vocals which go through a wide range of styles
to tell the story and every-so-often we hear a young woman’s
voice revealing her thoughts. As one would expect the compositions
tend to incorporate multiple tempos and time signatures and
the music goes through many changes through songs that are
anywhere from seven to almost ten-minutes in length. Some
are aggressive, packed with drama others tend to be more poignant
or suspenseful. There’s almost a cinematic soundtrack feel
to the entire recording. ***
I mentioned at the beginning how challenging this CD
was to listen to because of the harsh nature of the story,
but the one thing that had me hanging on was that this is
a story of hope, it’s a story about a survivor. In that sense
the story is ultimately uplifting with a powerful message.
I have to thank both, Valerie for having the courage to tell
her story and Prymary for using their musical talents to do
justice to her story. Prymary’s The Tragedy of Innocence is
a real emotional roller-coaster, but it’s definitely a ride
worth taking. ***
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