JAM IT! — Following the Unknown (review)

JAM IT! — Following the Unknown album cover Album · 2015 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
js
No doubt, bandcamp can be a great resource for checking out new bands, but it can be a curse for some bands posted on there because there are critics that assume bandcamp is for bands that are rookies and non-professionals, but such is not always the case. A good example of some of the high quality bands you can find on the site is Jam It!, an instrumental rock band from Russia that features virtuoso instrumentalists playing highly developed compositions with a powerful studio sound. There is nothing amateur about these guys, and if you dig current rock that draws on classic 70s progressive rock, as well as modern prog-metal, then you have come to the right place. This is rock with just enough fusion mixed in to appeal to fans of the rockier side of the jazz to rock equation.

Jam It! lists Dream Theatre, and their fusion offshoots such as Liquid Tension Experiment and Planet X, as influences, but to be fair to Jam It!, their music is a lot more lively and imaginative than those aforementioned technocrats. Some other influences you might hear include the various incarnations of King Crimson, early Yes, mid-70s Genesis and modern metal fusion in general. Although keyboardist Roman Savelyev takes a few solos, and provide massive orchestrations throughout, the star of the show is guitarist Konstatin Llin, who displays the required speed metal riffs, but also plays some nice soulful licks more in line with the classic guitaristics of Jeff Beck or Oz Noy.

Musically, Jam It! often features the sort of rapid harmonic and rhythmic changes that we normally associate with prog rock, but these guys don’t give into meaningless flash, and often show a much more soulful blues/RnB side that gives the music more depth and room to breathe. You can bet that there are other bands out there trying to mine similar material, but the big plus here is that the guys in Jam It! know how to play, how to arrange, and how to use the studio to get a fat sound. “Following the Unknown” is a great album for fans of modern instrumental prog rock, prog metal, and the heavier side of modern fusion.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

For the Love Makers Vocal Jazz
HANNAH GILL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Spooky Jazz Vol. 2 Vocal Jazz
HANNAH GILL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Música Imaginaria 21st Century Modern
BALDO MARTINEZ
Buy this album from MMA partners
Alberto Nemo, Claudio Milano (with borda), Niccolò Clemente : Frattura, Comparsa, Dissolvenza Jazz Related Improv/Composition
CLAUDIO MILANO (NICHELODEON)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Shapes of Silence (live) World Fusion
ALEPH QUINTET
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Let's Move
ALEPH QUINTET
js· 81 minutes ago
Música Imaginaria
BALDO MARTINEZ
snobb· 2 hours ago
Puttin' On The Ritz
THE NEW WONDERS
js· 15 hours ago
Wet Weather Wet
THE WRONG OBJECT
js· 1 day ago
Michael Kiwanuka - Lowdown (parts i and ii)
MICHAEL KIWANUKA
js· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us