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Hermetic Science — Live at Innsmouth
((Not on label) no#, 2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-09-08

Live at Innsmouth Cover art

Innsmouth, Massachussets, at the historic Gilman House, 15 November 2024: Hermetic Science played an 85 minute set which was taped for release as a YouTube concert movie, released earlier this year (link below). Now the entire show has been released as a beautifully packaged 2CD set. I’m not certain, but it seems that Ed Macan and company have been touring extensively of late, this performance being part of the band’s so called ‘American Carnage’ tour. How many other dates were played, or if any further dates are scheduled, is a close held secret I guess — I don’t see them listed on the band’s website or Facebook page. At any rate, this live show is nothing short of exceptional, and should be of interest to anyone who enjoyed any of the band’s music through the last three decades. The first disc contains a live run-through of the trio’s latest studio album from October 2023, Deliria - A Chronicle of 2020; since I feel like I just reviewed that, I have nothing to add to it with this live version — it’s the same nine pieces pretty much arranged the same way, so I  would refer anyone to re-read that review and also get a retrospective history of Hermetic Science there. It’s the same players here: Macan on piano and keyboards, Travis Strong on drums and percussion, and Jeff Ruiz playing bass guitar and vocal effects. There is no doubt that at this point Hermetic Science’s strongest influence is ELP, in fact if one can close their eyes and listen to the nine parts of “Deliria,” they will no doubt often be reminded of Tarkus, although only in a general style, since Macan’s compositions are completely original. It’s on the second disc where the listener gets a real treat, beginning with the four-part sidelong suite “Against the Grain,” a piece that originally appeared on the band’s third album En Route in 2001 (and also on the compilation Crash Course: A Hermetic Science Sampler from several years later). Here, 24 years on, “Against the Grain” is more engaging than ever, a powerful suite that offers a lot of insight and also doesn’t sound so overtly influenced by Emerson, although the wordless vocals on “Part 1” are downright frightening at times. The second disc is rounded out with the title track from En Route, “Melancholia II,” and “The Second Coming” from their 2008 studio album These Fragments I Have Shored Against My Ruins. Unlike their previous live album, Out There Live 1996-2006, which included cuts recorded by several different lineups over a ten year period, Live at Innsmouth represents a single gig, recorded by the current version of the band.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Hermetic Science

More info
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TavELxkX52c

 

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