Khymera – The Grand Design

Frontiers Music Srl (Dec 2015)

Reviewer: Peter Scallan

Khymera is another Frontiers project band that has been kicking about for quite some time. However, I must be honest and say this is the first time I have had the opportunity to listen to any material. This incarnation is led by Dennis Ward, Pink Cream 69 bass player, songwriter and producer. On this album he is also lead vocalist, and if I am honest my first thought was, ‘not another musician who thinks they can sing’. Met a few of those in my time!

The album opens with ‘Never Give Up On You’ which is very Night Ranger indeed – apart from the vocals. Don’t get me wrong the vocals are OK but let the song down which is excellent as is the production/mix.

This is followed by ‘Tell Me Something’ which has a Honeymoon Suite feel to it with an almost walking bass line and builds to a great chorus.

‘Say What You Want’ is next and opens with acoustic guitar picking and vocals which sound good. However, the chorus sounds very familiar and sounds similar to Gotthard’s Feel What I Feel to my ears and in general very Gothard.

‘I Believe’ opens with a great keyboard and guitar intro that Journey would be pleased with. It leads into a pacey melodic rocker, although the chorus is good it doesn’t quite match up to the rest of the song.

Next up is a ‘Night To Remember’ which is another great song if not a little generic in places but has a great chorus with some great backing vocals.

The next song again has very Honeymoon Suite overtones and is a great arrangement with some great contrasting parts. Entitled ‘She’s Got the Love’, it moves brusquely through the various changes in arrangement seamlessly – great stuff!

‘Land of Golden Dreams’ opens the second half of the album with a great guitar riff and atmospheric keys. It builds nicely to the chorus which builds on the intro guitar riff with some huge backing vocals. Another superb song indeed!

The title track ‘The Grand Design’ is next and mostly definitely has a Honeymoon Suite vibe going on. Again it is another pacey melodic rocker which is very well constructed and quirky in places as per the Honeymoon Suite reference!

The obligatory ballad follows called ‘Streetlights’ and if I am honest it doesn’t really do it for me. I am not quite sure why but the song just drags on for me.

However, the mood is lifted by ‘Who’s Fooling Who’ which has another intro Neal Schon and Journey would be proud of. The song is driven along by a great bassline and piano and the guitar kicks in for the chorus which has some great counter backing vocals also.

‘Finally’ picks the mood and pace up further but the vocal melody in the verse is very similar to Billy Squier’s In The Dark from Don’t Say No. However, it is another superb song with another great chorus.

The last song is another ballad called ‘Where Is The Love’. This is very reminiscent of Journey with the Jonathan Cain piano parts in the first verse before the second verse builds into the chorus. However, in places it highlights the limitations of Ward’s vocals although it is still a great ballad.

Well thankfully Dennis Ward isn’t another one of these guys who decides to sing just because he wants to! The album is full of excellent songs and superbly produced and mixed. However, while Ward is a reasonable vocalist, for me these songs are so good they demand a top notch vocalist to really do them justice. This is especially true of the two ballads which could have been so much more with a vocalist with the range and feel to do them justice. Regardless of my opinion on the vocals, if you like your rocking melodic a la Night Ranger and/or Honeymoon Suite, you will definitely find this to your liking.