Tarot - Reflections. 2016 Australia

Tarot's first album (or the compilation of cassette EP's as it were) was a great opener that had a unique blend: The music of the early 80s epic metal bands as played by 1971 era Uriah Heep.

Reflections sounds like 1974 era Uriah Heep. Period. End of story. Not the best period of that fine band now is it?

I'm all for the newer bands recreating the past, with history on their side to filter out only the best parts that have aged well to modern ears. But we don't necessarily need to rehash the past verbatim either. Is the third album going to be straight AOR, followed by a disco album, and then synth-pop maybe?

OK, I'm sure that isn't going to happen. And this is a very good album without context. But I was hoping for more dynamic output. Reflections is a bit ordinary to be honest. Interestingly, I found the vocals to be an improvement on the debut. They had to do something, though as I've read elsewhere, not everyone agrees with the execution.

12/29/16 (new entry)