VIRTUALITY PRESS: REVIEWS Page Five (R through S):   RADIO GHOSTY: Forget that Scott Mosher is an incredibly talented artist and visionary. Never mind that his web site kicks serious artistic ass. And don't even bother commenting on his lyrical mastery. Just sit down, shut the hell up and LISTEN. "Ambient neo-progressive cyber rock" my eye; this stuff is way too out of bounds to be pinned down so precisely. Virtuality contains wave upon wave of color, expression and mindscape, and is to be thoroughly enjoyed by most anyone with a yen for higher thought and a penchant for something emotionally meaty. Check out "Shores of a Cosmic Ocean", "The Human Machine" and the title track from Virtuality.   READ MAGAZINE: The CD says to file under "ambient neo-progressive cyber-rock." So what is that exactly? It's fucking awesome, is what it is! Prog metal spliced with electronica, or vice versa, but with a real driving energy, unlike straight-up ambient. Hard-hitting drums, wailing guitar solos, heavy synths, and New Age lyrics and imagery combine for an aural experience of ROCK. This is music that begs for a laser light show. It kind of reminds me of Signals-era Rush, only way heavier. File under dope shit. - (EDITORS PICK)   ROCKNET REVIEW: Somehow Scott Mosher bumped into RockNet and - out of the blue - a short, but funny note came in the mail that Scott'd like to send us a promo copy of "Virtuality". Since the term he used to describe his music; 'Ambient Neo-Progressive Cyber Rock' confused the crap out of me, I kindly replied to please send over the promo. If only to make that crazy term clear to me. Well, I can't think of a much better description of this music myself, so I'll go along with Scott for the time being. This stuff is largely keyboard-based, yet guitar-driven progressive rock. The first thing I noticed was that the songs mostly open with a keyboard theme, that runs throughout the song, giving the album a consistent feel, and - indeed - an ambient mood. This is largely added to by the choice of keyboard and synthesizer sounds. Somewhat vintage in my ears, but still very modern sounding. The drums are programmed, and this is well audible. Though *well* programmed, and powerful sounding, I think a real-life drummer would add some more power and liveliness to the (excellent) material. This record runs for over 72 minutes. This is a respectable length, and I can only applaude this. However, a fair amount of this playing time is used repetitively, by means of long intro's without much variation. This is fine with me, since it adds a certain tension to the material, but I can imagine some people getting annoyed with hearing the same theme, riff, or lick a dozen times after another. A good example of this would be "A Season Of Fire". Mr. Mosher does most of the playing on this himself, playing guitars, bass keyboards, programming, drums and voices. Guests include a certain Todd Corsa (vocals / Lead Guitar) and Mickey James (Bass). However, though some of the themes are somewhat repetitive and thematic, there's also material that sounds very atmospheric, like "Attilion Sunrise", with beautiful pads, and dreamy melodies, bringing new age to mind. Though nowhere near pentatonic, Kitaro comes to mind. The vocals fit in well enough. Personally I'd have liked a more powerful voice, especially on some of the heavier tracks, but then again that wouldn't do much good for the consistent quality of the material as it is. So I'm not complaining. Scott Mosher has recorded a respectable album. Great work!   ROCK REPORT: A while ago, I received this e-mail from an all American guy called Scott Mosher, asking me if he could send me a promotional package of his latest effort called "Virtuality". Of course I didn't say no and that's how I got to know this surprisingly professional looking product. Besides a long time musician and songwriter, Scott also is a graphical designer, which explains the fabulous cover and booklet artwork, and a human being with strong political, environmental, scientific and social ideas and - above all - a healthy dose of humour, such as the ever present 'Ukrainian glow-in-the-dark potato sprout' in the booklet. But I'm supposed to write about music here, so let's start by saying that "Virtuality" is a convergence of Scott's musical, graphical and sociological ideas, which are all marked by a highly progressive approach. It reminded me a lot of the two Darkstar project albums when I first saw and heard it ("The Heart Of Darkness"...), but Mosher's music is softer and more electronical. He calls it ambient neo-progressive cyber-rock himself, which is not a bad description really. But the 72 minutes of - largely computer made - music on "Virtuality" are so diverse that it's almost impossible to label the genre. Even elements of techno and trance music pop up from time to time. Luckily for the variety factor of the disc, some songs feature narration (by Scott himself) and/or vocals by Tony Corsa. The latter reminded me of IQ's Peter Nicholls, but Corsa's not the world's best singer, which still is an understatement. The rest of the playing and producing duties were in the hands of Scott and bassist/producer Mickey James. Despite a few minor shortcomings, "Virtuality" offers a pleasant listening experience for open-minded people. Luckily for Scott, fans of progressive music are used to broadening their minds.   ROCK REUNION: What a great name for a musician, hehe. But don't expect any true metal hymns! This is one of the best self-releases I have ever listened to. As I already mentioned in our Q&A with Scott, I would even compare this record to legendary CDs like the ones of Torman Maxt and Vauxdvihl. Scott describes it as ambient neo-progressive cyber-rock. Not the worst description. After the spacey intro "Upon The Frontiers Of Infinite Night", the album starts with the title track. Almost all instruments (guitars, sequencing, percussion and drum programming) are performed by Scott himself, Todd Corso is doing the vocals. And his voice reminds me a lot of Rush's Geddy Lee. The song "Virtuality" is led by a great keyboard melody and and the dreamy vocal line. "The Human: Machine" starts like an electro-rocker or even trance track, with Scott performing some growled sci-fi spoken-words. But the chorus of this track is outstanding. Front 242 meets Peter Gabriel meets Fear Factory, haha. Also the rest of this CD is futuristic rock at its best. "Re-Define" sounds like an unreleased Rush track from the "Hold Your Fire" days. The sequencing of "The Dreaming Eye" reminds me a bit too much of a soundtrack for computer games, but with "The Promise Of Truth", there is another absolute highlight. Ambient keyboard sounds and many percussive elements support the hypnotic vocals of Todd Corso. The album ends with the 10 minute opus "Sorrow In A World Of Darkness", divided into three parts. A perfect way to close an almost perfect CD. Also the cover artwork and the booklet design are great and could have been done by an artist like Mattias Noren. I don't talk about the concept of the album and the artwork, check it out for yourself. This is a must-by for all fans of really progressive music, not just some senseless shredding. With some more guitar parts and some less ambient / trance elements, "Virtuality" would have even got full score. Contact the allround artists Scott Mosher at: www.theambientmind.com. (9/10 points)   SATAN STOLE MY TEDDYBEAR: Scott Mosher is one of those modern self-made renaissance men. Not only is he a musician, but he does graphic design, website services and runs a small record label. With all that going on, it's a wonder he has time write and record his own music. But apparently he does set aside a few hours a day for that and the result is Virtuality, a fusion of progressive metal tendencies and an ambient backdrop. Mosher utilizes a very heavy array of synthesizer and ambient sounds, being very generous in their inclusion. The result sounds like a cross between Ayreon's furturistic, sci-fi metal and Anubian Lights (a Hawkwind ambient side project, for those not in the know) with Jean-Michel Jarre hints occasionally peeking in the door. As the lavish booklet and mood aptly demonstrate, there definitely are definitely futuristic leanings and moods throughout the CD. Virtuality does contain similar elements as labelmates F5 (whom Mosher has helped along the way), but is more calming and tranquil than F5. Mosher's singing is fairly plain, but doesn't detract from the music at all. The one issue I have with Virtuality that it tends to be just a tad too much to absorb in a single sitting. The length of the album is a bit more than what might be beneficial to most listeners. But other than being overlong, the album is enjoyable and recommended for those who like to listen to both melodic metal and ambient music. - Review by John Chedsey   SCORE MUSIC REVIEW: Initial Impression - Kimmie - "It's techno light". Cristy - "Please don't make me sit through a techno CD". Notable Lyric - "Sometimes we find our reality within the words of humanity, and sometimes we see the duality and find ourselves in perfect symmetry" from "Re-define" (Kimmie says: Dude, you're too serious. Relax and smoke a doobie will ya?) Factoid - Scott Mosher is trying to create a musical commentary on industrialized modern society. Serve With a Greenpeace t-shirt. Comments - "Virtuality" sounds like the begining of Journey's "Separate Ways". Not like your bass-heavy pounding club techno, this CD is synthesizer-based and 80's influenced, including the upper end male melodic vocals. Kimmie breaks into Gary Neuman during the intro of "Season of Fire". It could be the chocolate-caramel alcohol concoction we're drinking but the underlying message is lost on us. Not to say that Mosher is musically inept, but those with a penchant toward rock may have difficulty sifting through his ambient electronic-based form.   SEA OF TRANQUILITY: If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, Arjen "Ayreon" Lucassen and the guys in Rush should be extremely proud. With Virtuality, multi-instrumentalist Scott Mosher has created a sci-fi novel of an album that merges the modern world "with a hypothetical and abstract ideal based on the environmental dilemmas that we are currently and irrevocably unwilling participants in," Mosher writes in the liner notes. You should also know that the esoteric, tedious and typo-riddled booklet for Virtuality portrays Mosher as a pompous individual who clearly believes his "art, music and interactions with others" will change the world. That said, let's discuss the music: Virtuality is overly long, with several synthesized instrumentals that seldom veer off in new musical directions. The songs with lyrics - about half of the 12 on offer here - are sung by Todd Corsa, who could be Geddy Lee from Rush if I didn't know better. The songs themselves (complete with lyrics about "mystic light" and "cold alien logic" and "the omnipotence of time") are actually quite good, as Corsa is a bold singer whose clear voice emerges triumphantly from Mosher's bloated symphonic sequencing. The back insert of Virtuality suggests CD dealers "file under ambient neo-progressive cyber-rock." I suggest they file it under symphonic spaced-out knockoffs. Yet the audio quality is superb for an independent release, and that alone makes Virtuality worth hearing. Added: August 23rd 2002, Reviewer: Michael Popke, Score:   SPIRIT OF RADIO REVIEW: Along the spine of the CD case (just after the title) are the words "Art Music Life," and that seems to be what SCOTT MOSHER'S Virtuality is all about. It's hard to separate any of those from the other because after reading Mosher's biography and the liner notes, it's plain that Virtuality encompasses all of them. A musician, graphics designer and self-proclaimed all-around nice guy, Mosher weaves his artistic abilities, songwriting skills and beliefs into the entity that is Virtuality to create what he calls "ambient neo-progressive cyber rock." And you know what? I couldn't have said it better myself. :) Ranging from dreamy, spacey interludes to haunting atmospheric soundscapes, Virtuality paints a picture of surreal industrial landscapes, starlit skies, acrid smoke and humans losing touch with the natural environment in an increasingly resource-dependant world. The effect is achieved largely with layer upon layer of guitars and synthesizers that at times calls to mind early- and mid-80s era Rush, especially in the guitar department. Any similarity to one particular band is impossible to pin down, however, as Virtuality just doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard before. A little metal, a little trippy techno, and a whole lot of ambience combined into some of the most original and interesting music to come across my desk in a long time. The music and the artwork are tied in, as well, and the CD booklet is as much fun as the CD itself. It would take me hours to delve into descriptions of the songs on Virtuality and to discuss the artistic talents, political views and social commentary that embody Scott Mosher's work, so to learn more about Scott and what he's all about, visit his website, The Ambient Mind. He's certainly an interesting and talented fellow, and I look forward to seeing where he goes from here.   STATIC ZINE REVIEW: Self-described as 'ambient neo-progressive cyber rock', what more needs to be said? There's a lot of great musicianship presented here, It's all done by Scott with a little help from a few guests. I'm reminded of stuff like KANSAS and Steve Winwood listening to this and even ELP in the keyboards, but there's some genuine song writing here. I'm not really into such polished sounds as this, it definitely is not heavy, but very creative and imaginative. I like the pitch-shifted vocals on track 3 The Human Machine but Scott's normal vocals I could do without. I'm just not into such a light singing style. This would completely rule as an instrumental release. The intro tracks are my favorite ones.   STEEL MADNESS ZINE: 12 tracks (72 mins) of 'ambient neo-progressive cyber-rock' music. I'm afraid that the long length of this CD and his type of music that might bore me. Well, not all but in fact, I'm surprise that I can accept this CD without much problem. From the 12 songs, some are just ambient instrumental and the rest are progressive rock with lyrics. Maybe like new Tiamat but this one has lots of good riffs. The music here is composed by Scott Mosher and performed by him with a guest handling some guitar part and a guy name Todd Corsa did some vocals. Not the kind of voice I like to hear. Scott also sings in one song but effect was used (I guess. I don't think normal human sounded like that). I am not at all disturbed by the vocals because the music have dominant role in the song. The vocals only take a small part through out the songs. It has a thick booklet with nice design. Scott is also a graphic artist and you can see his talent here. "Virtuality" is not for orthodox metal fans. Lovers of ambient and progressive (that doesn't have problem hearing both style mixed) should get this CD. (4.5/5 stars)   STEVE HEGEDE REVIEW: I noticed on the back cover of this CD a humorous-yet-serious little note asking to "file under: ambient neo-progressive cyber-rock". Scott's music is definitely ambient, and I can see where the term "cyber-rock" came from. However, I was sort of surprised to see the term "neo-progressive" used to describe the music. I'm certainly not a neo-progressive expert, so I was expecting something influenced by mid-70s Genesis, and the 80s neo-prog crowd. Scott's music, though, is futuristic, and without even one drop of Genesis influence. A close description of the music could mention a mixture of 80s Jean-Michel Jarre (maybe even 80s-90s Klaus Schulze), with Dream Theater-like atmospheres (drumming, and melodies), and a hint of Rush. To make more sense of that description, the drums tend to drive the music in a Portnoy-ish sort-of-way. There is a futuristic ambience to most of the tracks that might remind the listener of Jarre. And, as the CD unfolds, many of the vocals surprisingly start to sound like Geddy Lee. Scott's take on ambient music is generally melodic, and engaging. I'm not a huge fan of pure ambient music. But Scott definitely wants the listener to focus in on the music even during the mellower, flowing, sections. All of the tracks are done using warm sounding digital keyboards, analog-like tones, metal-ish guitars, bass, and drums. An 80s production sound is noticeable throughout the CD, yet I don't know of any 80s band that sounded like this. Jarre is a close comparison, but he was 100% electronic and doesn't feature the metal-ish sounds favored by Mosher. So this CD is quite unique. Overall, Virtuality will appeal mostly to electronic, and ambient fans who are somewhat into metal, but if you're a fan of both Rush and Dream Theater I'm sure you will like the more ambient moments on this album.   STRUTTER MAGAZINE: The bio says that this CD must be filed under Ambient Neo-progressive Cyber Rock! Well, I think it is a fair description, because most of these elements are present on SCOTT MOSHER's CD. Multi-instrumentalist SCOTT MOSHER comes out of North Carolina and he has released a wonderful CD, filled with high quality Neo-progressive Rock. A lot of instrumental parts can be heard on the CD and I have to say not only the sound and production is very impressive, but also the way Scott plays the keyboards and guitars is terrific! Todd Corsa, who has an excellent melodic voice that can be heard on 4 songs, handles the lead vocals. These are the best songs on the album, namely "Virtuality" (great keyboard interlude, good neo-progressive melodic rocker), "Re-define" (excellent uptempo melodic prog/aor, best song of the whole CD), "The promise of truth" (superb HIGH QUALITY Neo-prog a la PENDRAGON) and "Sorrow in a world of darkness" (a dream for Neo-prog fans, playing length of 10 minutes, split in 4 parts). But the other songs are very good as well, only instrumental, still songs like "A season of fire", "The dreaming eye" and "Sometime after midnight" are very impressive Neo-progressive rocksongs and a pleasure to listen to. I am glad to have heard this excellent Neo-progressive rock record, which reminds me a lot of SHAKARY, which we reviewed a few weeks ago. Go check it out. - (8/10 stars)   SYNTH MUSIC DIRECT: One of the advantages of running my own mail order business is that I can occasionally afford to be rather self indulgent and stock something that I just love even though I know very well a large proportion of my customer base wouldn't normally buy. Such is the case with this release. You see, even though the album is full of electronics some tracks are also extremely heavy in the drums and especially electric guitar department. What's more about half the tracks have vocals. In my own mind I would call it apocalyptic cyber metal. This isn't to say that there aren't any tender moments 'Attillion Sunrise' and 'Shores of a Cosmic Dream' for instance are simply beautiful but for the most part its the sort of album that will get fans of New Age music running for their therapists. OK, I've mentioned the 'V' word already but the vocals we have here are incredibly strong both stylistically and lyrically. Just take 'Re-Define' for instance, passion and energy just ooze from his voice. This track as well as most of what you have here musically would make Mark Shreeve's 'Legion' seem like a gentle pastoral classical album. Its hard to put your finger on comparisons but think of a cross between Eloy, Marrilion and Haze. It does get a little AOR on 'The Promise of Truth' a bit like Asia or Boston but its done so well it would probably have been the best track either of these bands had ever done. You also get sequences, take 'The Dreaming Eye' three of them running hell for leather side by side already shaking the earth before a volcanic eruption of drums completely blast everything asunder. Though I keep going on about energy and power this is no mess of sound, the production is crystal clear, you can hear every element in the wonderful whole. And as as for the musicianship, wow these guys sure know how to play! Mention must also be made of the packaging. The booklet contains sixteen pages of the most stunning full colour artwork combining cosmic images and those of a smoke spewing industrial hell. And guess what these pictures were also created by Scott. This is without a doubt one of my favourite CDs of 2001 both musically and visually. It took me back to the days of my youth when I hadn't even heard of Tangerine Dream but I knew what I liked, it was loud but melodic and most of the musicians made Edgar Froese look like an oil painting. I can't force people to like something which isn't to their taste but if you ever fancy putting something in the player that is a little different to what you might usually listen to then I can't think of anything better than this- warn the neighbours first though, its impossible to play it quietly.