(Progressive Rock) Advent - Cantus Firmus {Advent 7 02987 02472 6, USA} - 2006, APE (image+.cue) lossless

Prolusion. "Cantus Firmus" is this Jersey band's sophomore release, with a 9 year gap between this and their eponymous debut. Together since 1989, ADVENT began as a collaborative effort between Alan Benjamin and Henry Ptak, soon joined by Mark Ptak, Henry's brother. Drummer Drew Siciliano joined the group in 2005.

Analysis. Done in a madrigal style (a cappella), GK Contramundum opens the album strongly with the band's hallmark vocal sound. The voices are clear and strong. The composition is reminiscent of a church bell choir, with spot-on harmonies, as well as attacks and releases. In short, they are very tight. Awaiting the Call is a bright instrumental and the longest stride off the path of the rest of the material, with a strong jazz-fusion feel. The next two tracks are for me a low spot in the album. Vocally dominated, they lack strong melodies and just seem to meander. The problem is not in either the singing or the playing, as the musicianship is excellent throughout "Cantus Firmus"; however these two compositions suffer from a lack of melodic focus. Two thirds of the way through Parenting Parents there is a bright spot, a majestic instrumental bridge, which alas, ends entirely too soon, surrendering to the rather ponderous vocal melody. Utter Her Name Once simply continues what Parenting Parents began in moping along a somewhat melancholy musical rabbit trail. However, the pace picks up again nicely with Remembering When, an instrumental guitar duet - acoustic and electric, with bass joining around midway. Where the previous two tracks seemed compositionally aimless, Remembering When is solid and might belong to Anthony Phillips or Steve Hackett, very restful and beautiful. Though the band is often compared to Gentle Giant (and in fact plays on "Giant Tracks", a Gentle Giant tribute album), other influences would have to be Genesis and Gryphon. Ramblin' Sailor is a good example of the Gryphon influence. (Are these guys influenced by any bands whose names don't begin with the letter G?) Ramblin' Sailor is based on a sailor's song, The Rambling Sailor. The intro is as full of energy as you might expect from an old sailor's dance, with plenty of penny whistle mixed in with the contemporary instrumentation. It tumbles along joyfully for the first few minutes, before the tempo slows into the central instrumental section, which is grander with lots of Hackettesque guitar. When the band returns to the original theme, it is with the sound of rowdy pub laughter and group singing, as if the revelers had joined in song. You can even hear the clank of mugs. This track is the high point of the album, the magnum opus for "Cantus Firmus". In contrast to Rambling Sailor's jaunty romp, the next track, Your Healing Hand, is dreamy and ethereal, restful and almost meditative. Here I wish to interject comments on Rear View Mirror & Alison Waits (A Ghost Story). These tracks were recorded nine years ago, as part of the first CD project, but are released here as bonus material. Not as strong as the strongest material here, but stronger than the weakest, they could have replaced the third and fourth tracks quite nicely. Synth horns begin the fanfare for Firmus Finale, the closing track. Firmus Finale picks up themes from earlier compositions, particularly GK Contramundum, this time played instrumentally and with great flourish, a grand ending. Firmus Finale should have truly had its proper position and ended the album with a bang. One last observation before I conclude. The cover artwork and band logo are very nicely done by Michael Phipps, which stylistically compliment the band's music.

Conclusion. I would recommend this album for lovers of Gentle Giant and Genesis and generally the Canterbury branch of the prog family tree, though this is not retro-rock or derivative. It takes these flavors and mingles them with their own. These guys know and love their roots and are producing musical fruit in that vein. I find "Cantus Firmus" to be more head than heart music (in other words, I am not deeply moved in my soul by their melodies), yet there is much to like here and it continues to grow on me with repeated listens.
progressor.net

"'Ah hello-I know it's been so long, And now, my soul contrives in song, To express my joy and my surprise, at finding you're still there.'
The long awaited sophomore release from New Jersey's Advent is finally here. Cantus Firmus starts practically where their 1997 self-titled debut left off, here with some wild Gentle Giant styled vocal interplay (quoted above) on the magical opener 'GK Contramundum'. From there it's one prog rock gem after another, signaling the return of a band that had they been a little more prolific with releasing product would probably be one of the more popular progressive rock bands of today. With Cantus Firmus, that just might now happen.
Although this band excels at tackling the GG style of quirky, medieval influenced and complex rock, they also can do the symphonic style quite well. Take the instrumental 'Awaiting the Call...', a soaring number complete with loads of keyboards from the Ptak brothers Mark and Henry, ripping guitar work courtesy of Alan Benjamin, and the nimble drum chops of Drew Siciliano. It's back to medieval journeys on 'Parenting Parents', a song with a touching message that all families can understand, complete with poignant vocals that recall the Shulman brothers in their prime. 'Utter Once Her Name' combines lush acoustic guitars and atmospheric keyboards at the intro, then the band kicks in for some majestic and soaring sounds highlighted by some clever vocal interplay and Benjamin's Steve Hackett-inspired fret work. The guitarist lays down some impeccable acoustic & electric work on the instrumental 'Remembering When', again reminiscent of Hackett, especially his solo work.
The band gets upbeat on the complex epic 'Ramblin' Sailor', a huge 18-minute piece that could easily be the side-long track that Gentle Giant never recorded, but were always capable of had they ever had the notion to do so. Advent really do a great job on this one, adding layers of complex vocal harmonies over dense and intricate instrumental passages. Keyboards, recorders, guitars, bass, and drums all add to the immense sound created here, and the band brought in for this track guest bassist Shunji Saegusa, who many of you will know from Japanese fusion legends Kenso. Hints of Yes and Genesis also appear here and there on this one, but overall this is a fine example of how a modern progressive rock band should put together an epic piece. Benjamin's guitar work again needs to be commended here, as there are many fine moments of searing electric guitar, lush acoustic, and majestic classical. Combined with the array of keyboard textures and vocals from the Ptak brothers, this one's a complete winner.
'Your Healing Hand' is a somber piece, reminding me a little of 'His Last Voyage' meets 'Think of Me With Kindness' by Gentle Giant, and 'Firmus Finale' is a grand instrumental outro to the main part of the CD, led by the orchestral keyboards of Henry and Mark Ptak, as well as an acrobatic guitar solo from Benkamin. The album also contains two previously unavailable 24 track recordings of 'Rear View Mirror' and 'Alison Waits (A Ghost Story)' from the bands debut album. On that album these songs were recorded on four-track, so you can imagine the sound here is much improved, especialy notable on the latter, which now takes on a much richer tone with all the nuances crystal clear.
Whether you are a fan of Gentle Giant's music or not, there's no denying the fact that Advent not only have that classic GG style down pat, but also they simply create damn good progressive rock. This is majestic, well thought out, enjoyable music that works on all levels, paying tribute to one of the legends in prog history and at the same time sounding fresh and relevant in 2006."