Breaking Orbit – The Time Traveller (2012)

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For long-term fans of Breaking Orbit, previously known as Nucleus, the obvious question with their highly anticipated debut album is, was it worth the wait?

Progressive Rock should always take you on a journey, the musical landscape changing as you travel, with the capacity to give you a different experience on each listen as you focus on different parts of the landscape.

With so much involvement required by the listener, I’m afraid that Prog is never going to be a mainstream genre, but fortunately due to the internet, the Prog community can get together and appreciate it internationally yet still feel very connected.

So a fan of Prog is instantly going to be intrigued by the opening track of The Time Traveller. It’s called Echoes, and that title shares its name with one of the most iconic Prog songs by one of the most iconic Prog bands of all time. Just the word had me curious to hear how Breaking Orbit would handle it.

Echoes is the perfect opening to this album. Clocking in at just under nine minutes and with the lyrics not kicking in until 3:30, the band is assuring us that this album is about music as an art form. It’s more than simply a collection of songs. It sweeps you away with epic wonder and whets the appetite nicely for the rest of the album.

In their former incarnation Nucleus, I couldn’t help but compare the band the Tool, and Conscious Self is a track that demonstrates this sound. But as Breaking Orbit, the band has loosed the chains of comparison and managed to make these aggressive sounds their own. The old Nucleus song Orion has also been revamped and is a fitting tribute to the origins of the band.

Over the last couple of years the tracks My Direction and Callsign have been released as singles. What was I saying earlier about Prog never being mainstream? These demonstrate that I could be totally wrong! With a bit of wily marketing and a lot of luck, these could easily propel Breaking Orbitnot only into the Australian musical psyche, but internationally too. Needless to say, as a Prog fan, I am more interested in the album as a whole, rather than individual tracks.

I should say at this point too, that the artwork for the two singles is incredible. Most Prog lovers would agree that an integral part of the music is the artwork. I am looking forward very much indeed to the full artwork for The Time Traveller when released. I understand it will be continuing along the same future fantasy theme as the artwork on the singles. Hold it in your hands as you listen.

The ethereal instrumental Machiguenga takes us on an ambient stroll through the centuries and bursts into a fascinating percussive combination of wind with tinges of metal. In all there are four instrumental tracks on The Time Traveller. The other three are Transcension (Part I), Harmonic Voice and Ice Warmth. All are apt bridges between the other parts of the record. Ice Warmth in particular is very impressive, managing to aurally express the song title beautifully.

The title track aptly finds itself as the centrepiece of the album. It is a powerful collage of the band’s full range including a blistering guitar solo. The foreboding Cassandra Syndrome shows off their powerful rhythm section and contains elements that any Porcupine Tree fan would be salivating over. The album closer Silence Seekers is a beautiful piece and perfectly placed. A sense of sadness came over me when I knew the album was coming to a close and I wanted to listen again immediately. So I did!

It has been encouraging to see some Australian bands over the last few years be recognised on the international Prog stage. Breaking Orbit is destined to be one of them.

The Time Traveller is an album that warrants listening to again and again. It will have you discovering new twists and turns with every listen and will suit any mood you happen to be in. This record has it all.

So for Breaking Orbit fans that have been hanging for this album, was it worth the wait? The answer is a resounding YES!!