Jaw dropping moments in music are to be savored, and today's was especially savory.

Having returned from a business trip to find bassist Bryan Beller's new CD "Thanks In Advance" waiting for me in the mail stack, I adjourned to the computer to catch up on some email and give Bryan's disc a spin. I've been a fan of his playing with Mike Keneally for some time, and the samples of this new album on his website were compelling enough to make me order the "special edition" which contained a bonus DVD of footage from the tracking sessions for the album.

I've gotten a bit wary of modern fusion albums. Many veer off into fuzak or over slickness. Those that don't are often recorded too dry and sterile, with a guitar tone so thin you want to host a benefit concert to raise money for food (or an Ibanez Tube Screamer). This great news is that there is not a moment on this album that suffers from any of the above. Nor is it one of the all-too-frequent situations in contemporary fusion albums where there is an overt reliance on chops to mask songwriting deficiency. The compositions here are engaging, the chops on display are fierce, and both work in tandem to produce an hour of sonic awesomeness, ranging from high energy, rapid-fire unison workouts to more muted affairs that allow the space between the notes to underscore the excellence of the song and the playing.

This highlight to my ears is the 10+ minute "Love Terror Adrenaline/Break Through" recorded with Bellar on bass, piano, synth and percussion, Mike Keneally on lead guitar, electric vibes and piano, and the absolutely ridiculous drumming of Marco Minnemann. This track moves effortless between Mahavishnu-esque fusion power, King Crimson-ish heaviness, Zappa-esque complexity, Pink Floyd/Yes style symphonic granduer and epic, glorious peaks. As the track builds, it becomes clear that the individual talents of each musican are stellar, but the whole is even greater than the sum of its parts--this is a trio that can stomp the world of jazz-rock fusion without fear. The track winds down to a sublime slice of bass and piano mellowness that serves as both a counterpoint to the frenzy that came before it and a resolution of the tension that has been building for the last 10 minutes. All of this was more than satisfying, but my jaw really hit the floor when watching the companion DVD which shows the discussion of the piece, and Keneally tracking his solo. The song apparently took over a month to write in demo form and almost 30 hours to mix. Keneally practised the song for only a couple of hours before tracking, and managed to track all his parts all in a single 9-hour session.

My words really can't do it justice...its clear that a lot of heart, soul and sweat went into this project, and it is very, very worthy of your valuable listening time, attention and financial support. $15 buck for the disc, $25 for the disc with bonus DVD (3 hours long and really well done) or $35 for the new CD, DVD and a copy of Bryan's first album "View".

Sponge-worthy to the max!