DEEP HORIZON PRESS: REVIEWS Page Two: METAL CORE ZINE: Some neat progressive metal with some powerful vocals and great playing. The band sort of reminded me of Queensryche at times, which is not a bad thing. 10 tunes and not a bad one in the bunch. Scott Mosher can really rip on guitar and he found the perfect vocalist for his music. Worth seeking out.   METAL MANIACS - November 2006 Firing Squad: I'm fucking sick of Scott Mosher's albums coming to Firing Squad. Don't get me wrong, this dude is a visionary musician/composer/engineer whose work I thoroughly enjoy. I've dealt him 3 rounds of past Squad praise; I just want to see a Mosher disc come to the MMHQ via some label support. Ambient, exhilarating, progressive metal ingenuity blows out this guy's ass like some greater force is at work and ranges from high-paced to totally spacious instep with genre luminaries like Gordian KNot, Derek Sherinian, Canvas Solaris, Watchtower and Stride. In addition, Mosher is a graphic artist by trade and thus, his every release comes with artwork and a layout that's as brilliant and captivating as its accompanying content. Spread the word and help Mosher get a friggin' deal, since more than half of the shit that falls down from many prog labels is just that: shit falling down. Mosher will mess you up, as his rather metal last name so aptly implies. - Dave Brenner   MUSIC STREET JOURNAL: By Gary Hill Overall Review: With Scott Mosher's latest release he continues a trend of producing extremely potent metallic progressive rock. It's amazing how he can continue to put out one album after another without any weak tracks or losers. If anything Mosher's songwriting and instrumental prowess seem to improve with each new outing. Vocalist Scott Oliva is simply incredible here, standing on an even keel with the best of the best. If you like your prog with a hard edge, or are a fan of progressive metal, this disc is a "must have." You just can't go wrong with it.   Track by Track Review Deep Horizon: This one kicks the CD off in fine fashion. A smoking-hot chorded riff with tasty keys over top screams out. After this runs through for a couple measures Scott Oliva throws a non-lyrical vocal that is pretty incredible over it. This part of the introduction runs through for a few more measures then drops back to a more mellow approach to establish drama and a pretty texture. After a while a very crunchy guitar line takes the track. As it moves into the verse it drops to a more stripped down approach that is all neo-prog. Oliva's vocals here are extremely powerful and emotional. Mosher pounds the music back up for the next set of vocals, and this alternating pattern makes up the bulk of the piece. Mosher manages to throw in a killer instrumental segment with some exceptionally tasty sounds. This twists around a bit as it carries on and turns very much into a classic rock/progressive rock direction for a while before dropping back to the verse. This potent track makes for a great beginning to the disc. The Breaking Point: This is another extremely powerful progressive rocker with metal tendencies. The arrangement has a rather Rushish texture at times and Oliva's multi-layered vocals are pretty impressive. It also includes a metallic instrumental break that turns the corner towards more prog rock textures for the guitar solo. At times Mosher's guitar soloing reminds me of Steve Howe, especially Howe's Asia period. In fact, a lot of the latter parts of the sound seem to call to mind the heavier work of that prog rock supergroup. This is another sheer winner. A Path Of Pride: Keys start this one off with a more sedate, but still quite powerful format. The cut builds on this theme with other keys layering over top before kicking into a hard-edged prog jam that feels a bit like Dream Theater. Those keys are still over the top of this, though. They drop it back to more textural zones for the first vocals. That DT-like segment and the more mellow one create an alternating pattern for the song proper here. It changes up here and there with enough twists to keep the song interesting. Light Years: Starting with sound effects and keys when this one kicks in the sound is amongst the most tasty on the disc. It seems hard to believe that they could bring up the intensity any from the last few cuts, but they do it here. This one has a fairly straightforward prog metal type texture overall, but that awesome sound and some even more powerful vocals really elevate this one. Mosher puts in some especially tasty guitar soloing and a drop to the more sedate is a nice touch. While it's hard to pick a favorite track off of a release that's as strong as this one is, this might be it for me. In Visible Darkness: I have to say right off the bat, that I really like the title of this one. I find it to be clever word play, and I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff. This starts with ambient tones and then fires out into some of the hardest edged stuff on show here. That doesn't dominate for long, though, as a rocking progressive rock jam ensues. This one calls to mind a lot of neo-prog acts without any one in particular standing out. Oliva's vocals here are deeper and remind me a bit of Geoff Tate. The backdrop for the verse is pounding out, but still the keys over top lend an almost balladic feel to it. While the texture here is probably more prog metal than progressive rock, this one is still very potent and has some extremely evocative moments. Besides that, after a drop back to more atmospheric elements this turns the corner far more into the progressive rock range. While the earlier segments remind me a bit of Queensryche's Rage For Order period, this later section (that serves as the outro) combines that sound with more pure prog leanings. Turning Away: Kraftwerk like keys serve as the intro here. After a short while, though, this one thunders in with more hard-edged textures. This is another that definitely has a lot of metal infused into its sound, particular in the form of the guitar work. Re-Engineering The Mind: More electronica styled keyboards serve to start this one off, but quickly Mosher shifts it out into another hard rocking prog instrumental segment. This runs through several variations on its themes before dropping back to a keyboard dominated mellower section. As it powers back up and Mosher solos on the guitar I'm reminded a bit of Joe Satriani. This instrumental is one that keeps rearranging and recreating it's themes - or perhaps I should say "re-engineering." It's definitely a tasty one, but they all are here. Falling Down: In a by now familiar theme, keyboards begin this one, too. The cut shifts gears after a time to more meaty hard rocking progressive rock elements. While there are points where it drops back to the more sedate, overall this one is one of the most metal numbers on the CD. It's amazing that at the same time it includes some of the most pure progressive rock segments of the album. In this way it is one of the most classic examples of the sound structure of the album. I have to say, though, if there is a weak track here, this one is it. It seems to suffer a slight lack of cohesiveness, due to this variety of textures, and Oliva's voice at times misses it on this. The truth is, though, these things are actually very minor. On a weaker disc you'd probably not even notice them. It's just that the rest of the material here is so strong that it points it out more. Also, it should be noted there are times here where Oliva shines just as much as the rest of the album and Mosher's guitar soloing here is amongst the tastiest on show here, too. Zero Hour: The keys that start this one are far more textural, but when Mosher launches into the harder rocking jam here it's all the more furious in comparison. This is another that is extremely powerful. It is also probably the heaviest material on show here. While a lot of prog heads might be turned off by the metal textures on this one it is really one of the strongest pieces on the disc. This one has all the progressive rock timings and changes you could ask for, but delivered with a heavy metal musical texture. Give this one a chance because it is pretty awesome. The Space Between Lives: With pretty washes and waves of keyboards beginning this one, it builds rather slowly with a very lush and beautiful texture. While they grow and rearrange in very dramatic fashion, the keys hold this one by themselves for almost the first two minutes of the song. Eventually, though, Mosher thunders in with a tasty guitar sound and the cut is on its way. It drops back to a mellower element (still with a rather driving rhythm section) for the verse, but punches back out into the heavier territory for the chorus. This is another that is packed with emotion. While it maintains the same basic musical concept for a while, it drops back to the more sedate for a break later, then jumps back up into a new instrumental passage. Keyboards are really predominating over this segment (they might even be a little too high in the mix once the guitar reenters). After this extended interlude, though, Mosher moves it back out into the main themes of the song. Another drop down later takes it to a guitar dominated dramatic section that eventually gives way to more full on metallic prog jamming. This is another segment that reminds me somewhat of Rush. It finally crescendos to give way to more textural sounds that show up very briefly to end the song and album in quite satisfying fashion.   MUSIC IN BELGIUM: "Deep Horizon" is the fourth opus of this American guitarist. It succeeds "Inferno" left in 2004. Once again, the environmental problems challenge the artist. That goes this time further since it also worries about the consequences of the wars and the destruction which results from this as the small pocket shows it. With each album Scott Mosher improves and it is still the case here. This time, Todd Corsa is satisfied with two solos of guitar leaving the place of singer with Scott Oliva. This small difference on paper is however of size. It is not that Todd Corsa was not with the height (it was very good besides on "Inferno"), but Oliva makes still climb the vocal level with a great expressivity in its song. The alternatives are numerous, it vibrate, explode and transcend the whole. It should be said that it took part in the writing of the words of almost all the titles. Another important point of this new opus, only instrumental on ten titles this time. The air of nothing, it is rather beneficial. Scott Mosher ventures less in planing parts electronic. He thus offers a very consistent album to us and excellently designed. Song and solos of guitar are connected in quite good manners as on "Deep Horizon" whose solo is precisely played by Todd Corsa. The album shows more rock'n'roll that the precedents, even hard rock even if there remains tone heavy. The solos of guitar are épiques what is a treat so much they are melody and enivrants. As for the vocal aggressiveness of Scott Oliva, it shows that he is a large singer. If Iron Maiden had some like him, good god that that would make good compared with the serious vocal limits of Dickinson. This new opus of Scott Mosher is transcended by this excellent singer who is Scott Oliva. Here are which very gives an environment hard rock to this album which keeps despite everything the tone progressive. One will note also the incredible expressivity of Oliva, which can there make to impregnate dark environments of tone, and the soli of the guitars of Scott Mosher and excellent Todd Corsa all.   PARAGON magazine: Scott Mosher, your allroundniceguy, is back with Deep Horizon. You may have read about Scott in Paragon before. This review will be easy and short, but not in a bad way, I just don't want to get repetitive. The layers and textures of the music are incredible. The songs are mixed and orchestrated perfectly and there is not one flaw in production that I have been able to hear. Scott Oliva's vocals are strong and compliment Scott's progressive style. Mosher's guitar tone is excellent and the fact that he writes and performs every instrument on these technically complicated songs is proof of the mans talent. Mosher has been a musician for 20 years now, let's hope for 20 more. I'll be waiting patiently for his next release.   PILGRIM WORLD U.S. ambitious independent prog metaller Scott Mosher has returned with his triumphant fourth release 'Deep Horizons' As some of you might already know that, Scott Moshter has been enthusiastically releasing his cyber-sonic neo prog music with his honest attitudes and keen musical sense for many years to been capturing many listeners who enjoy diggin the new sound from undergound and indies scene. Probably, I'd say that I'm one of those people who i s quite appy to find his music by accident. Since I got to know his second album 'Virtuality', I've come to realize that his musical endeavors are gradually appealing to many different prog and metal fans including someone who is into both Rush and Ayreon.   If you look for the sounds of 'cyber metal' or 'synth-laden metal', you mostly stumble on the industrial metal or modern techno-laden kind music. I do not say those kind of music is mediocrite or not enjoyable, however I do not usually get satisfied with the music along with the word of cyber or synth-featured metal, due to lack of diverse musical soundscapes in my own term. In the case of Mr. Mosher, what he's been exploring in his album successfully could touch upon my tastes somehow. Although I have mentioned more than a few times, his second album 'Virtuality' has such fascinating soundscape and heavier edge of prog metal. His previous album has also such magnificent sound approach and harder guitar sounds featured.   Now, let's take a look at his latest album, 'Deep Horizons' this time. At glance, you find a new singer, Scott Oliva, featured on vocal-oriented tracks. The previous singer did really find job on Mosher's past works. On the other hand, Scott Oliva has also really powerful and soaring voice to express freely on Scott Mosher's synth-laden, yet heavier prog metal sounds as well. I have no idea what's the reason behind the change of vocalists, but this is a really good move for Scott Mosher's music, esp., on this latest album. Along with vocal oriented tracks, the instrumental tunes are really fascinating as well. Unlike Inferno album, I find myself enjoying this musical endeavor from the beggining to the end, BIG TIME! I would say this is his best release so far. Probably, his second album is kind of different entity for me, so I might not say this surpass second album. However, if someone is curious about Scott Mosher's music for the first time, I definitely recommend that someone needs to get this album at first. Then, go back to Scott's previous works gradually.   I'm assuming that Scott must've been taking time to compose, arrange, perform, and put together everything with his most careful manner. It's neither too mind-boggling or complicated for the listeners. What he has achieved previously is absolutely still alive, yet he brings this baby into a new level with nice cyber sounds and slight complexity. I believe he has made a new progress every release. There are no weak spots or redundant parts at all. Every track has a quite nice moment on the album. Scott does not usually go irrelevant guitar shreds, yet he put really nice guitar solo spots with the guest musicians's tasty solo. Within several complex sections, there are shining guitar leads and memorable passages you could find easily. Like other previous album, there are tons of swirling synth leads and keyboard soundscapes. If you like neo-prog and symphonic rock like Rush and Ayreon, you'd get surprised how come this artist is not get exposed quite enough in the scene of prog. Anyway, I'm quite satisfied with this album for each listen. Congrats for this superb new album, Scott. Highly recommended for any prog and cyber-rock fans out there.   POWER PLAY MAGAZINE: Scott Mosher had started his career in the middle of the nineties when in 1996 he released his debut album. After ten years, it was the time for the band's fourth turn in their career and their new epos entitled Deep Horizon. In this album we will have the chance to hear ten tracks and more than an hour of pure progressive metal music in the way of Scott Mosher. So even if we have some long duration compositions which reach eight or nine minutes, in the same time Scott has given us some more straight and more radio friendly tracks too. Also, he has the help from Scott Oliva in the position of the singer, which gives a more personal approach and more theatrical elements inside their well worked compositions. Definitely Scott Mosher had added some really powerful elements inside this album and even if we talk for a progressive release I believe it is a little bit easier to listen to than the usual progressive releases. Check them out. SCORE out of 8.2/10 - Antonis Maglaras.   PROGRESSIVE ROCK & PROGRESSIVE METAL EZINE: Let´s talk about genres and styles as Symphonic Progressive Metal, Melodic Metal with touchs of the best and Atmospheric Progressive Rock, including epic compositions, think about that, because you can't imagine how it must sound together,  I must admit that it sounds amazing, certainly capable of creating some astonishing, enjoyable and moving Progressive Music. Scott Mosher knows, how to create guitar and synth sounds, showing his versatility with a tasteful and soulful guitar solos that send the music into outer space. Another important highlights are the vocals from Scott Oliva, he has a very powerfull and a majestic voice, that deserves all our attention. If you want some good references, the music from Scott Mosher, on this album, is a mix of the power from legendary bands as "Uriah Heep", "Rush", "Whitesnake", "Deep Purple" and "Rainbow" with the particular combination of the moder musical elements such as "Ayreon", "Riverside" and "Sylvan",  with the orchestral arrangements from "Alan Parsons". A special and particular attention to and my favourite songs are: "Deep Horizon",  "A Path Of Pride" and  "In Visible Darkness" are a fascinating and quite hypnotic compositions which combines a multiple instrumental lines, while "Light Years", "Turning Away", "Falling Down", "Re-Engineering The Mind" and "The Space Between Lives" takes you on a pompous musical journey. Amazing, brilliant and indispensable work, highly recommendable... (Comments by Carlos Vaz)   PROGWERELD: For his most recent release, American Scott Mosher decided to take another approach personnel-wise. On Mosher's previous two albums, "Inferno" and "Virtuality," Todd Corsa provided the vocals. The release here concerned, however, features Corsa only on guitar; he gets to play two guitar solos. The vocal parts have been taken care of by Scott Oliva. The previous two cds offered music which was surprising for its mix of progressive metal with heavy electronic drums and spacey keyboards. "Deep Horizon," like its predecessors, features the same electronic drums and spacey keyboards, although the latter are less prominent, and besides, by now Mosher cannot really surprise me with the concept anymore. Noticeable is that the songs on the album do not differ in terms of pace; they are all rather up-tempo and very bombastic, so that the music soon becomes one blurry mishmash; the songs lack individual character. The guitar parts are quite alright, though, and make the album still enjoyable. However, the final blow comes from the singer, Scott Oliva (Inner Strength). I find myself extremely exasperated by his singing; for some reason he emphasises the last word of every sentences by accentuating the timbre in his voice in an annoyingly theatrical fashion. I might be able to endure this every once in a while, but he does this constantly. He has a typical "metal" voice and sings with a great number of sustained high notes. Terrible. His previous albums showed Mosher providing a good mixture of instrumental and vocal songs, maintaining the proper balance between the two. This time, however, there is only one instrumental song, Re-engineering The Mind, which is, especially with a singer like this, simply not enough. With the two albums before this, Mosher built up quite some credit. This time, though, he misses the mark altogether. This album will soon collapse into oblivion.   PROGRESSION Magazine: Sound: 4/4, Composition: 3.5/4, Musicianship: 3.5/4, Performance: 3.5/4 Great Scott! Deep Horizon is one heck of a metal extravaganza. Combining the talents of master instrumentalist Scott Mosher and monstrous minstrel Scott Oliva, this album should hit all the right notes with fans of Queensryche, Fates Warning and similar bands. A graphic artist by day, Mosher is a self-financed musician and is quite adept at splashing ambient and electronic touches in his prog-metal soundscapes. For the most part, this is not subtle stuff. It's the musical equivalent of driving a Hummer on Sunset Boulevard. Oliva displays the Herculean pipes of a singer possessed by Mephistopheles himself. Think Ronnie James Dio crossed with Geoff Tate. If Oliva occasionally reminds you of Bruce Dickinson, it's understandable, since the singer has spent some time in an Iron Maiden cover band. Deep Horizon is Mosher's fourth solo release and it's evident he is growing increasingly comfortable with how to add the right color and hue to his musical canvas. It's garish and loud, but not easily ignored. Be prepared to be blown away. PROGRESSOR Fanzine: Prolusion.American musician and composer Scott MOSHER has been on the scene for no less than ten years, having had time to make four solo albums during this period. These are "Ambient Earth" (1996), "Virtuality" (2002) "Inferno" (2004) and "Deep Horizon", which was brought out some four months ago. Analysis. Apart from Mr. Mosher himself and singer Scott Oliva mentioned in the lineup above, this CD features also Todd Corsa (formerly a singer for the project), although his performance is limited to "additional guitar solos" on two pieces, the title track and Re-Engineering The Mind. "Deep Horizon" shows that Mosher doesn't mislead in listing Kitaro, Fates Warning, George Lynch, Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, Neil Peart and Carl Sagan as his benefactors. The music on his new offering is indeed something averagely between progressive metal, ambient and space rock with a strong 'modern' feeling, which is certainly explained by the instruments used (electric guitar, digital synthesizers, programmed bass and drums, etc), which in turn, is typical for Scott's work in general, as is also the rubber-like sound of the drum machine - the weakest spot of any of his recordings. Nonetheless the growth of the man's compositional mastery is this time out more obvious than ever before. Dynamic, aggressive guitar riffs, atmospheric keyboard passages, electrified guitar solos, the powerful beats of a drum machine and strong, emotionally saturated vocals are all delivered in a way that they effectually contrast with each other, which makes the music sound diverse without being too complicated. Scott Oliva's singing isn't anything extraordinary, particularly with regard to the heavy metal scene, but suits this stuff really well. None of the ten songs evoke direct associations with others' creations, though Rush, Fates Warning, Saga, Eloy and the Rabin-era Yes can be named as rough points of comparison. The very best tracks would be A Path of Pride, which is probably the heaviest and, at the same time, the most contrast-full composition here, and the 9-minute instrumental Re-Engineering The Mind. Scott Mosher is also known as a graphic artist, and it needs to be noted that the booklet is filled with highly impressive graphic images of an apocalyptical character, expressing their creator's anxiety for the future of Earthly humanity, which also finds its reflection in the lyrics. Conclusion. "Deep Horizon" is definitely Scott Mosher's best effort to date. Those liking his previous albums should be first to check it out.   PROGNOSIS: Deep Horison is the first CD by Scott Mosher I got to listen to. Checking out reviews of his previous albums, I read names like Rush and Alan Parsons as references. Well on Deep Horison I hear none of that. Deep Horison is an album of operatic, melodic Metal Prog. Lead singer Scott Oliva has a very powerfull voice and he uses it in full capacity. David Coverdale could give a relative idea of what to expect from him. Except for the singing, Scott Mosher is at the helm for this album, being composer, arranger and performer. The result is an excellent album that merits multiple listens. Not a dull moment on Deep Horison and fans of the heavier stuff by Ayreon should really get into this CD. I will also add that the environmental linked concept of the album touches a chord with me and that the booklet is of high quality. If you are into operatic, melodic heavy Prog, I highly recommend that you check Scott Mosher out.   PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Reviewed by: Richard Zywotkiewicz, May 2006 Scott Mosher is one of the few American artists today that can challenge European heavies like Arjen Lucassen in the arena of heavy prog rock. His new CD Deep Horizon takes him one step further into the battleground. The work is a muscular, powerful symphony brimming with self-confidence, direction and articulation. Mosher's earlier work seemed more like a space-rock version of Rush, but after changing vocalists to Scott Oliva on this release, Mosher's sound has also evolved. My guess would be a mix of old and new Ayreon, with a bit of early nineties Eloy thrown in for good measure. It's a very European sound and his influences are deeply rooted. As well, Mosher has carefully crafted a piece of work that steers clear of current prog-rock clichés. Mosher himself describes his music as an ambitious and evocative hybrid of modern, guitar-driven metal and atmospheric progressive rock. The title track, which opens the CD, says it all, with deep chunky riffs floating on swirling synths. "Breaking Point" leans more to a Rush sound, while "Path Of Pride" builds heavy riffs upon the ambient textures of say, Hawkwind, before erupting into a vintage Ayreon symphony. Each song that follows blends heavy, mid-tempo riffs with soaring lead guitar; all interspersed with swirling ambient moments in a melodic blend of music that holds its own with the best of them. Even the digital drum tracks, usually a deterrent for this listener, sounds powerful, forward; not unlike the great work found on Eloy's RA release. Something should be said about the packaging on this CD. Mosher is also a graphic artist and his CDs are packed with stunning artwork. Deep Horizon's packaging is almost worth the price alone. Like always, Mosher provides a healthy hour's dose of great music without faltering. Previous works were amongst my favorites of the year. He does most of the work himself and releases an album every couple of years. The hard work shows. His catalogue is consistent and always sounds fresh. If you have not heard Mosher before, this is a great place to start and you can then work backwards through his catalogue. If you know his work, this is no less and no greater than previous releases. Deep Horizon is clean, precise, well-produced and perfect fodder for heavy prog enthusiasts. While available elsewhere, you can buy directly from the artist for a mere $10, the best investment of the year IMO.   PROGNAUT: Its been two years since Inferno was released and my first album by Scott Mosher that I reviewed. So I looked forward to hearing his latest offering Deep Horizon. There are few differences this time around, first being a different singer than on Inferno. This time around the vocal duties are done by Scott Oliva and gives this album a more operatic, melodic slant to the brand of progressive metal by Scott Mosher. Another difference, is Deep Horizon seems to have a more straight forward appeal than Inferno. I canít pinpoint what influences vocalist Scott Oliva has, but I can tell you he combines, in my opinion, the best of the genre all rolled up in one. These differences are so minor but noteworthy in the musical evolution of Scott Mosher. Scott Mosher again does all the instrumentation as a composer, arranger and performer. Just like Inferno, the end result is an excellent album that captivates me from beginning to end. The only downside agin, for me, is the programmed percussion. I would have liked to hear a more organic percussions to make this near perfect album, perfect. I would recommend this album to fans of modern operatic, melodic heavy progressive/power metal especially Ayreon, Space Metal, Fates Warning as well as many many more. Check out Scotts MySpace page for full length songs to listen to. - (G.D.) 4 out of 5   QUINTESSENCE MAGAZINE: I've had the privilege to review this guy's three previous CD's and he still amazes me to this day with what he churns out of his head. "Deep Horizon" is another aural masterpiece and for one who hasn't heard Scott's music is something you've been missing out on for quite some time. "Deep Horizon" is Scott's fourth album and features Wind Wraith vocalist Scott Oliva (another band I reviewed in the past and getting ready to unleash another album). Mosher's music is everything from Techno to Darkwave to Ambient to Industrial, Metal and Prog somewhat similiar to what Devin Townsend does with his projects on the side. Reason why I call Scott the "Devin Townsend of the underground". You put these two guys in a room and I guarantee you they'd solve the oil crisis, get Iran to comply with the U.N., find a cure for Bird Flu and still churn out four more albums apiece within 3 hours time. As with Devin's music, SCOTT MOSHER's amazing atmosphere and ambience has to be heard through headphones, there's just no other way to get the full effect of it. I'd like to see this guy do one album this way but in an instrumental format. There's nothing more to say; you just don't hear this type of music played or written on a daily basis. Just a diversified ideology here and it needs to be taken in carefully and with an open mind or maybe an "ambient mind"?   RE-GEN Magazine: An enticing combination of cosmic synthesizer ambience and progressive rock power brought down by vocals too reminiscent of Iron Maiden. Scott Mosher is certainly an adventurous soul when it comes to his musical ambitions. In the past, his attempts at fusing ambient synthesizer instrumentals with progressive rock have been hit-or-miss at best, with comparisons being drawn more to the epic rock constructions of Rush, Pink Floyd, and Dream Theater than to the synthesizer workings of Brian Eno or Vangelis (though their influence can be traced in Mosher's music as well). Deep Horizon is Mosher's fourth album, and perhaps the best example of his intriguing musical style that he has yet offered. Utilizing the vocal skills of Scott Oliva, Deep Horizon is a grandiose affair that draws from a number of divergent influences. Once again, the constant rhythmic changes and progressions of differing musical themes and motifs, as well as the mystical synthesizer tones recall an atmosphere similar to that of '70s progressive rock groups. However, Mosher's guitar work is evocative of '80s metal in the vein of Iron Maiden, full of counter melodies, conservative but effective solos, and twin guitar harmonies. Oliva's vocals also lend to this comparison as in tracks like "Light Years" and especially "The Breaking Point," the man's incredible falsetto soars in such a way that one would think Bruce Dickinson simply used a pseudonym for this release. Oliva sounds so much like Dickinson that it ends up bringing the album down as it seems clear he has no vocal style that could be called his own. Be that as it may, the music is rather impressive. Cosmic waves of swirling synthesizer ambience abound, especially in the longer tracks like "Re-engineering the Mind," "The Space Between Lives," and the opening title track. The guitars are still prominent, but they actually blend in well with the intertwining lines of synth arpeggios and melodies. As stated, the solos are rather conservative, never delving too much into overindulgent shredding, but providing a melodic accompaniment that creates a satisfying effect. All in all, Deep Horizon is perhaps the most accomplished album Scott Mosher has yet produced. His skills as a musician are readily apparent; complex time changes such as those found on this album are not easy to achieve in electronic music, but Mosher has done so rather beautifully. The guitars complement the synths, making for an expansive atmosphere. In all fairness, Deep Horizon would be an incredibly good album if not for Scott Oliva's vocals. Half the time, they simply don't fit, and even when they do, it's impossible to escape the comparisons to Iron Maiden or even Queensrÿche. If only there was a way for listeners to discard the vocals, then Deep Horizon would make for an extraordinary musical experience. - 2.5/5 Ilker Y from Re-Gen   ROCK IS LIFE: As a fine artist does with watercolors, Scott Mosher layers his ideas over one another to create just the right kind of ear-catching progressive rock. It's evident that Mosher's music is nmore about artistry over simplicity and trends. Whether he's belting it out lyrically or indulging in an extended instrumental break, Scott delivers what prog rock fans are looking for.   ROUGH EDGE magazine: Scott Mosher's "Deep Horizon" is a truly amazing listening experience. Imagine the progressive sounds of Dream Theater and , with vocals performed by a Bruce Dickinson / Ronnie James Dio / Geoff Tate hybrid and lyrics and song melodies that bring to mind the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber (in tandem with the previously mentioned Geoff Tate). Yeah. Wow. "Deep Horizon" is all that and more. Each and every track has its own emotion, its own existence, and yet they all tie together as one. Some tracks are heavy, some not so much, yet all of them are haunting, sometimes even eerie, slabs of deliberate, well-designed and -played guitar backed by a futuristic synth bed that gives each track real weight. The result is that each track plays like a little movie soundtrack, telling a story full of action and emotion in the space of just a few minutes. Vocalist Scott Oliva is just as impressive. His vocals, which hold hints of the above-mentioned masters, are equal parts epic and soulful. Oliva knows when to gallop along a la Dickinson and when to hold a forlorn note for just the right length to communicate a certain emotion.  Weighty, rock hard and mind-expanding, "Deep Horizon" is also well-produced and beautifully recorded. Deep Horizon: All music composed, arranged and performed by Scott Mosher; All vocals and vocal harmonies performed by Scott Oliva. For more information, check out http://www.theambientmind.com.  3/4 - Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton     SCREAMING SYMPHONY: Scott Moshe is an artist, who runs a creative art company in New York called the ambient mind studio. He is specialised in visual digital art but also does compose, record and play music and has release 3 albums since 1996. Now his fourth album called DEEP HORIZON has reached us from the maestro himself and once again I had the pleasure to get my ears around this masterful fusion of progressive music with rock guitars, spacey ambient electronics and even some classically influenced progressions. The most notable difference on DEEP HORIZON to his earlier albums is that I can only find one instrumental track on here but I can say that all the songs do contain lengthy instrumental passages and ambient moments which do help to set the mood, and the mood is quite often an anxiously dark and desperate one. The album carries the subject of politics, war, environment and some more and all the vocals are performed by Scott Oliva (Inner Strength, Last Vision Black, Driven). Apart from the vocals and a couple of guitar solos, Scott Mosher does play basically all of the remaining instruments on ?Deep Horizon?. This also means that Scott has used once again programmed drum sounds to fill the sound spectrum and to my big disappointment he stayed with a very boring generic cheap sounding drummachine as he did on his last two releases, which totally takes away from the experience of a potentially big sounding album. The same goes for the overall sound, even though everything is recorded very clearly, there seems to be a lack of dynamics to the sound itself due to the digital feel of everything that is happening, even the guitars lack balls at times but this is only a sound matter that I personally am displeased with and I do hope that these comments do not distract from the overall achievements that Scott Mosher has accomplished by once again creating a great album with some absolutely brilliant art work to accompany the songs through a magnificent 16 page booklet.   SEA OF TRANQUILITY Webzine: (4/5) Scott Mosher has been around for a number of years now and with his latest release, has allocated the vocal duties to Scott Oliva whose voice has an immediate impact on the listener after little more than a few minutes of the opening chords. Scott's voice is incredibly powerful and coherent with the lyrics being extremely well pronounced. He does however have a penchant for using plenty of vibrato to deliver his message which becomes particularly noticeable on the third track, "A Path of Pride". Whether this affects your own enjoyment of the album may become an issue as there are only a few vocal songs without this little extra thrown in. Atmospheric keyboards and guitars abound throughout all songs although the drumming is of the canned variety and while more than adequately done, there can never be any escaping the fact that the ultimate sound can often be far too manufactured. Scott has opted for a slightly heavy approach for his latest album as he lays down some thick and tasty power chords and scorching lead breaks with a more spacious backdrop when the keyboards kick in. When reviewing any Scott Mosher album there can be no ignoring an additional quality that accompanies his music and that is in the graphics department. Being a graphic artist and designer (and very adept in this area as well), Scott has included a very impressive booklet filled with extremely clever graphical images that are reminiscent of the after effects of a nuclear blast melded with what might be his take on all things astral. Many of the images are stark and austere while possessing a very ethereal concept such as the middle spread with its depiction of the Aurora Borealis hovering over a raging lake of fire with a compass adorning the centre. Brilliant work!!! This is definitely an album that impresses more with each listen and while the initial overuse of the vibrato with some of the songs was somewhat off-putting, it becomes less of an issue as the subtleties of each song unfold. The crunch factor is just right, the songs are strong and forceful without going overboard and the guitar work sits perfectly with the atmospheric and astral themes. All in all, this is a pretty solid release and while not quite as ground breaking as some might like, it is nevertheless a worthwhile listen.   TRANSCENDING THE MUNDANE: Long Island native Scott Mosher has been a friend of mine ever since meeting at Powermad and Prog Power Festivals, and he has also designed the logos for Transcending the Mundane. He released his solo debut, Ambient Mind, back in 1996, but his career really started to kick into gear in 2001 with the release of Virtuality. A huge step up, Virtuality was one of the best progressive metal releases of the year, only to be topped by the third album, 2004's Inferno. Deep Horizon is Scott's first release to feature the vocal talents of Scott Oliva. Oliva has been a member of an Iron Maiden tribute band for years while also fronting bands like Inner Strength, Wind Wraith, the Driven, and Monday Knights. In the past, Scott Mosher's albums featured an equal mix of instrumental and vocal tracks. Both Virtuality and Inferno utilized the talents of Todd Corsa and he gave these albums a more progressive vibe with his Geddy Lee-like delivery. Oliva, on the other hand, comes from a metal background, so he gives Deep Horizon a heavier vibe at times, especially on "Zero Hour" or during his unorthodox approach to singing on "In Visible Darkness." As expected, Mosher continues to grow and expand his repetoire. His playing isn't easy to categorize, but listeners will appreciate the thought provoking nature of his playing. Scott Mosher is a graphic designer and his artwork is among the best your eyes will ever behold. He also adds an equal dash of intelligence and humor.  Album Score: 9.5 out of 10   ULTIMATE METAL Deep Horizonis a new album from multitalented prog metal musician Scott Mosher. As with his previous release, Inferno, Scott is responsible for all instruments, songs, lyrics, production, artwork and even releasing the CD, making his achievements all the more impressive. The music borrows heavily from space rock, in a progressive metal template; melodic, mid-tempo rhythm guitars drive the songs beneath soaring leads and shimmering, atmospheric synth tones. The addition of Scott Oliva on vocals has remedied the single weakness found on Inferno, as the new singer gives a confident, solid performance ­ albeit one that may prove prohibitive to listeners who dislike traditional power metal/progressive vocals. Drums programming suits the inorganic, slightly ethereal music, and the bass is powerful enough underpin everything. Solid atmospheres are maintained throughout. As in his previous works, Mosher makes extensive use of repetition and catchy melodies, yet manages to keep everything absorbing, and he pulls of the mix of genres with ease. The well-written songs, professional packaging and competent performances all around create a very mimpressive self-released effort. Deep Horizon comes recommended to progressive metal, space rock and prog rock fans. And is it me, or does the title also sound like it could be used for a science-fiction porn movie. 7/10 - Russell Garwood   UNDER THE VOLCANO: Scott Mosher is a very talented individual. I am consistently impressed by the design of his CD art, especially the technology-versus-nature waste-landscapes throughout the booklet. His music is pretty cool too - spaced-out Prog Metal rich in sonic texture and digital other-worldliness. Unfortunately he insists on using a vocalist who sounds like the bastard love child of Steve Perry and Rob Halford, and I end up cringing at every overly operatic "Aaaaahhh!" I'd far prefer instrumentals. - Chuck Foster, UTV 94.   VIRTUOSA UK Magazine: I must admit, name Scott Mosher was, up until a few weeks ago a new name to me. Upon first impression he sounded like something out of the NWOBHM, yet the truth couldent be further! If you ever wondered exacely what ambient, neo-progressive cyber rock was all about, look no further. Being something of a multi-talented musician and a musical visionary and composer, Scott Mosher has been making music now for over 6 years, and I must admit that whilst this will certainly not be everybodys cup of tea, to others Scott Mosher may have just pushed the envelope of Progressive Music that bit further. I have decided to review these 3 albums of Scotts together pureply because they are all quite similar in content. Ive been playing these albums now for quite a while to try and come to some sort of appreciation and understanding of this unique and different slant on prog rock/metal. If you can imagine Vangelis colliding with Fates Warning then that might just give you a starting point from which to enter this discussion. Featuring some Vocal tracks from Todd Corsa and later on Scott Oliva, the rest are instrumental tracks that merge ambient and distant soundscapes with occasional bursts of heavy guitar. Whilst the overall structure of these albums may be technical and progressive by their very nature, there are not many actual flashy guitar or keyboard solos from Mosher, instead we have space age sounds and dreamy backing tracks which although highly original and impressive, dont really satisfy me after the first 10 minites. Perhapes its becuase I am forever waiting for something to happen musically which eventually...well...dosent. Scott should indeed be praised for evolving and pursuing such a unique sound, yet I would nbow like to se Scott join a real band and apply his input towards something a bit more structured.   COMMENTS FROM ROWEN (Persephone's Dream): Well all, the Allroundniceguy(tm) has come up with another great platter of prime ambient metal on this one! I have all of Mr. Mosher's releases and this is his best yet - which is saying a lot because I loved Inferno and it STILL spends a lot of time in my CD player while I am having fun with astrophysics! I'm not entirely sure but I suspect there's a concept behind the whole of Deep Horizon. I have not yet read through all the words as I prefer to listen to a disc for a number of times before I start delving into the words themselves. It certianly feels like a concept album. The songs all tie together nicely and I am hearing a bunch of influences from Rush to Dream Theater and even a morsel or two of Queensryche here. There some nice instrumental interplay with the vocals on this one, especially a cool call and response section in The Breaking Point. Very cool! New vocalist Scott Oliva sounds great on this disc. A little more operatic/Geoff Tate style than previous vocalist Todd Corso, but really solid. It's now a toss-up between which one I prefer!! Deep Horizon sounds and feels a bit darker to me than the previous releases. Very moody in places. Very hard hitting in others. It still maintains Scott's trademark sound but in a new direction. My favs on here are Deep Horizon, The Breaking Point, A Path of Pride and The Space Between Lives. The other songs are great too - but these four are the best on CD imo. And, as always, Scott has done a great job with his packaging and layouts. Excellent stuff all the way around! Scores a 10 on my chart! Nice work Dude!!   COMMENTS FROM SETH FWF: AMBIENT INDEED!!! 5 stars(of course...:^) "But not just ambient, this album rocks. It's very accessible and catchy, but with several listens(especially on headphones)...the many layers and nuances that Scott M. incorporates come through. It really grew into a great album for me. Scott Oliva is a great vocalist, quite similar to Geoff Tate...but not a clone by any means. He can get a good growl(not death of course) in the throat and compliments the music nicely. Scott M. does create a great dark atmosphere and makes some social, political, and environmental statements in a vague but understandable way. As far as songs, I'll stick with the highlights for the sake of brevity. The title track is excellent, great flow with crunch and ambient keys backing. A Path of Pride is a good rocker and Oliva shines here. Turning Away is another highlight that rocks away while Light Years is a bit more subdued, but has a great mood and between the lines message. The instrumental, Re-Engineering the Mind is great...being as much a fan of instrumentals as songs with vocals, this album works great for me with many extended musical passages. The last 3 songs are probably the best for me, Falling Down and Zero Hour really rock, great guitar and vocals on both. The last track has a cool ambient flow, reminds me a bit of The Gathering's later works...but still heavier yet. Just a nice atmosphere, I'll make an assumption that it has to do with the lives affected by 9-11 and oddly enough...it's exactly 9:11 on the timer. Excellent album, highly recommended! Great work Scott and Co."   Testimonial: JUSTIN GAINES: I was just spinning disc 2 of the ProgPower sampler set and what should I come across but a track by none other than our very own Scott Mosher. The song ? the Breaking Point ? is off of his latest CD Deep Horizon, which (alas) I have not yet heard. Anyway, I thought it was a very strong song. Nice guitar hooks, a great solo, and a fair amount of melody. I enjoyed the vocals a lot more than I did on his last CD Inferno (they just didn't seem to fit the music), but I think the song could have benefited from a stronger or catchier chorus. I was on board until that point and thinking "man, this sounds a bit like Vanishing Point" which is ALWAYS a good thing, and then the chorus hit and I was like "was that it? Really?" I was expecting something powerful there. I hope that counts as constructive criticism rather than just bitching. Overall, I thought it was a good song that could have been even better. It was enough to build my interest in the actual album (which is rare with these samplers) and it is probably the best song on the whole disc. - Justin