Planet X: Universe

With this newly released second effort titled Universe, Sherinian, guitarist Tony McAlpine and the thunderous drummer from down under, Virgil Donati get straight to the point in a hurry and an ear twitching flurry. Here, the mighty trio who call themselves “Planet X” pursue odd metered time signatures, strenuous unison runs and rigorous soloing yet display a good constitution for purposeful thematic development in accordance with a distinct sense of appreciation for compositional form. At times it is difficult to distinguish between super-fast guitarist McAlpine from MIDI specialist Sherinian yet the duo often trades passionate fours along with the unexpected deviations from the norm. Throughout, Donati is a supercharged dynamo as he augments Sherinian and McAlpine’s tricky maneuvers and impossible rhythmic structures yet the drummer also displays shrewdness and maturity as a power drummer who combines subtle nuance with impressive pyrotechnics.

Essentially, Universe should not only satisfy technically inclined prog-heads yet may also enlighten those who feel that they’ve heard it all. Hence, “Planet X” seemingly parallels these rapidly changing musical times at an often mind-boggling and altogether supersonic pace. Recommended!

* * * * (out of * * * * *)