How would one classify this? Classic-hard-pop-orchestral-new-age-space-rock? Perhaps.

Suffice to say, it rocks.
  

Indeed, it is the rare form of art that is fascinating to both the fan of pop-music as well as the more progressive listener. Epic in style, this work achieves a powerful synthesis of rock’s most timeless elements interspersed with visionary moments in which technology and classical influences merge to form a sonic dreamscape. It is a bold reflection of such classic 70s influences as Pink Floyd, Queen, Rush, Van Halen, and Boston. When experienced in a live performance, it is awesome.

Compelled by what he calls an “evangelical sense of wonder,” Hal Thompson is hardly your typical rock and roll icon. Yet this eccentric character has the tenacity and skill to single-handedly write, produce, record, and perform his entire debut album.
 

The result is a hybrid strain of rock in which elaborate orchestrations of guitar, voice, and synthesizer fuse melodic passages to form a brilliant patchwork. Most obvious among Hal’s many talents is his amazing ability as a vocalist. (No doubt the years of belting out everything from Led Zeppelin and Journey to AC/DC helped to hone this skill.) At well over four octaves in range, Hal’s voice is perfectly suited to his own profound, often surreal lyrical style.

But to receive the full impact of this music, one must experience Hal Thompson and his band in one of their highly-animated live shows. Renowned for his wild theatrics, Hal takes center stage as the quintessential rock guitar showman, executing his onstage antics with a youthful and comic spirit that appeals to the young and the young at heart. And the fact that such a complex production can be pulled off live is a tribute to the skill of the band members.
  

Going far beyond the scope of the original rhythm tracks of the music, Paul Thompson on drums and percussion adds another dimension to the visual aspect of the show with his raucous playing style and his spectacular solo. Rounding out the rhythm section on bass, Mark Manning also handles many of the challenging secondary and backup vocals.

Classically trained on piano, Kyle Kinkade has the technically daunting task of orchestrating an unearthly array of sounds ranging from ethereal layers of keyboard and soaring lead synthesizer to gothic cathedral organ. A highlight of the performance is Kyle’s astounding keyboard solo in which technology and musical skill converge with Debussy’s Sarabande to form an aural paradise of song and ambient drift.
  

Unmoved by fad or fashion, this work is completely devoid of pop-culture shock tactics. True, it has its dark and sarcastic moments; yet it leaves the listener with an overall positive vibe. In the end, one might attribute the universal appeal of this music to the fact that it speaks to the human desire to rock, revel, and be mystified. Indeed, it appears that Hal Thompson and his band are poised to bring about a sort of renaissance of rock music as a powerful and positive force of culture.