Weekly Dose of Prog: Bigelf - Cheat The Gallows

I've gone into Bigelf before, but now that I've listened to Cheat The Gallows a few times, some of the more subtle nuances have come into the foreground. The album begins and ends with 'the show' theme, something sort of like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band from The Beatles, but it's not an oppressive theme. It just adds to the ambiance.

Cheat The Gallows is an interesting mix of prog, psych and 70s hard rock. Songs like "Blackball" and "Superstar" strike me as a little more progressive version of Aerosmith, with simple and catchy verses and choruses. While songs like "Gravest Show On Earth" and "The Evils of Rock & Roll" come across as something more akin to the late 60s rock, albeit much heavier. In my original breakdown of the group I equated them as a mix of Pink Floyd and The Beatles and I really do have to stick to my guns, just this time I'm adding in the hard rock aspect.

I gotta say, one of the main positive aspects of this album - and Bigelf as a whole - is the strength of the singer's vocals. Damon Fox's voice grows and changes with each song. Some songs it comes off as more metallic and synthesized, while others it's more down to earth. I don't know how much is within his control and how much is an effect added, but either way I like it.

Bigelf is an interesting progressive rock band, and Cheat The Gallows is their best work. It expertly melds obvious influences in un-obvious ways. Their previous release, Hex, is decent as well, but this one is way better overall. I await a new album (no word on that yet, but I'm hopeful), and really hope they continue their trend of melding genres, sounds and decades of music like professionals of the craft. This is definitely an album worth picking up and checking out.