Freedom’s instrumental side sparkles,
every entry polished but retaining some grit — grit’s
good. Somehow, “Future Impact,” “Radiant
Departure” and “Spirit Rain” ultimately
vie for the proverbial blue ribbon. Each espouses
a shrewdly retro cinematic flavor shaped by Robs
Perez’s and Klan’s power chords and
synthetic colorations, respectively. An afterthought
that almost didn’t make the final cut,
a pretense-free “Spirit Rain” has
garnered raves with its stripped-down stone groove,
and rightfully so (check out Ronnie Montrose’s
very first solo Open Fire for similar territory).
The Cliff’s initial voice remains Perez’s
guitar. In lieu of the 64th-note runs so many
tactless six-string braggadocios are prone to,
Perez’s melodious leads are precisely crafted,
tastefully executed, and infused with a looseness
that staves off mechanical rigidity. The songs
are graced by some of his coolest solos to date,
the instrumentals betray no lack of power and
crunch — a fair approximation of Perez’s
style is Damn The Machine-era Chris Poland and
Deep Purple-era Tommy Bolin. Additionally, the
rhythm section of Fuller and Mals is the platform
all of this action requires. Mals is still playing
an electronic kit, yet the samples are earthier
and more authentic than those of the previous
albums.
One
item of potential concern is the running length.
Just under thirty-five minutes, this
CD builds up so much momentum by its close that
an eight track salvo seems an odd decision — ten
tracks is a nice round number and would likely
add another ten minutes of playtime. Or perhaps
it’s best to liken Freedom Within to a
drawing that’s been adequately rendered
and additional delineations could actually detract
from the end result. As it is, the album is a
brilliant platter with flaws that would take
a forensics team to ID. Curious cats who’ve
downloaded the samples have found themselves
placing an order for the entire three-disc package
found only at the band’s site (at such
an incredible value, it’s a no-brainer).
As an underground entity, Visual Cliff has evolved
into something of a force with quite a net presence,
and things having gelled as beautifully as they
have on Freedom Within, the band’s moment
is now.
1. Sacred (4:28)
2. Electric Soul (4:29)
3. Future Impact (4:36)
4. Let It Ring (4:31)
5. Beneath The Sand (5:04)
6. Radiant Departure (4:05)
7. Torn From Expression (3:58)
10. Spirit Rain (3:10)
