Exposé Online banner

Realm — The Path
(SYNCD-9, 1993, CD)

by Henry Schneider, 1994-12-31:

The Path Cover art Wait a minute! Do my ears deceive me or is this a long lost Yes release? No, it is the debut release by the mid-western group Realm and could easily be the best Yes release they never recorded. Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Realm is Steve Vail (keyboards and synths), Lake Furney (drums and percussion), and Darrell Studan (guitars and vocals). Studan's voice is a dead ringer for Jon Anderson and Vail has his Rick Wakeman chops down pat. In fact, both Studan and Vail extend a special thank you to Rick Wakeman for his help with this album. Most of The Path is a tribute to God and nature. Off by itself is "Little Bottle," a protest song about the atrocity of Tianamen Square. The high point of the CD is the title track, an upbeat song about death and the afterlife making use of unusual timbres. The beautiful artwork (akin to the psychedelic guru contemplation art of the late 60s), full color picture disk, and the CD booklet with nature photographs, lyrics, and band photos makes for an artistic and pleasurable package.

by Peter Thelen, 1994-05-01:

Realm is not a new band: well over ten years ago a nearly identical lineup produced an almost unlistenable (due to the muddy mix and horrible vocal arrangements) keyboard album under the name System, titled Realm Time Tales. That album hinted at the wizardry of Wakeman and the light vocal styles of Jon Anderson, but there was no convincing evidence that, ten years later, they could become an almost near-perfect clone of classic period Yes... well, maybe not the real classic period, but much of the material on The Path will easily give Going for the One a run for its money. The band today is Lake Furney on drums, Steve Vail on Kurzweil 250, grand piano and Moog bass, and Darrel Studna on lead vocals and guitars. Of course Studna is no Steve Howe, and the Moog bass doesn't have the feel of a Rickenbacker (note Studna does contribute real bass guitar on a couple tracks), but the spirit of the music is there; one can tell at the very first listen that these three guys worship old Yes, and everything they ever did. It's not until the third or fourth listen that one starts to notice the differences. So is this a good album? The musicianship is certainly good and the compositions are original enough (there are no overtly stolen licks here); it's just that in judging an album, the greatest weight in my opinion should go to originality of the overall style, and this band has very little personality of its own, with a couple of exceptions. But if you like the sound of old Yes, and you never got enough of it back then, I'd surely recommend picking this one up before wasting your money on Talk.

Filed under: New releases , Issue 3 , 1993 releases

Related artist(s): Realm

More info

Latest news

2019-12-11
There's No Time Like the Present – The Belgian band Present has been one of the best avant-rock bands in the world since its formation in 1979. Over the years since then, Present has released nine amazing albums, and now they're ready to start work on number ten. They're looking for some financial help from their fans around the world. » Read more

2019-11-07
Glenn Smith RIP – Glenn Smith, founder, mandolinist, and primary composer of the DeLand, Florida based prog / fusion band Magnatar, passed away on October 18th 2019 at the age of 68, after a brief illness.  » Read more

2019-11-04
Dino Brassea RIP – Word reaches us of the passing of Dino Brassea, who sang and played flute in Cast for many years. By our count, Brassea appeared on 11 Cast albums between 1994 and 2002. He also released music as a solo artist. » Read more

2019-10-06
Ginger Baker RIP – Legendary English drummer Ginger Baker has died at the age of 80. After coming to fame with Cream in the 60s alongside Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce, he became one of the most recognized and influential drummers of the rock era. On September 25, his family announced that he was critically ill, and on October 6 his death was confirmed. » Read more

2019-08-20
Alex's Hand Seeks Spa Treatment – American / European band Alex's Hand has a new album in the works called Hungarian Spa, which looks to be their biggest and best yet, featuring a large roster of guest musicians. They're seeking funding to take the project on the road, and are looking for help from the crowd of wisdom. » Read more

More news

Previously in Exposé...

Amygdala - Complex Combat – It’s been a few years since Amygdala’s eponymous debut, a complex, powerful and high-energy opening statement if there ever was one; and as strong as it was, its main weakness was the fact that...  (2008) » Read more

Kenso - Kenso's Guide to Making Progressive Rock Music – Well, in all my years or reviewing things, this is really a first. The 2DVD set is part performances, part music theory lectures, part insights, and part interviews; this is basically the members of...  (2009) » Read more

Jean-Luc Payssan - Pierrots & Arlequins – Jean-Luc Payssan is a familiar name to progressive rock fans as guitarist and founding member (along with brother and keyboard player Thierry) of French progressive rock outfit Minimum Vital. With MV,...  (2007) » Read more

J.Arif Verner - A Vision beyond Light – Verner is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and engineer who is no newcomer to the scene: his first release was Clear Colors, released in 1988, and he has been involved in numerous projects since,...  (1997) » Read more

Sabah Habas Mustapha - Jalan Kopo - The Sunda Sessions – Sabah Habas Mustapha is (so the story goes) the Western-educated younger brother of the more famous (at least within Indonesia) 3 Mustaphas 3. He’s basically a singer / guitarist / songwriter...  (1998) » Read more

Random review

Listen & discover

This Music Is Deep, Very Deep

More recommendations
The Seventeenth Dream of Dr. Sardonicus Festival 2019

Print issues