3.2 – The Rules Have Changed

7/10

I must admit, I have barely heard of the band 3 until the last couple of weeks. Apparently, it was a project formed in the ashes of Emerson, Lake & Palmer in the late 80’s, when Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer decided to form a new band without Greg Lake. The new member was the fairly unknown Robert Berry, and the album turned out to be a way more radio-friendly story than the usual ELP-albums, but has remained somewhat of a cult phenomenon for fans of the melodic rock-side of progressive rock.

3 now returns in a sort of mark 2, named 3.2. Gone is Palmer, and gone (and deceased) is Emerson, and the last man standing is Robert Berry, who has taken upon him to write, record and produce the whole thing by himself! Now that is of course very interesting, and what is even more interesting is the way he pulls it off!

The Rules Have Changed sounds really good in every sort of way. Berry sings good, and seems to be an expert in every instrument he lays a hand on (which are many!) and his voice is really, really good! The songs are all good and the sound is nice and clear. As a whole, it can get a little too much, though. Most songs are in the same symphonic tradition as the others, and even though every song works, it gets a little tiring after a while. But apart from that, I don’t have any bad things to say about it, really. The Rules Have Changed is a really good album, and if you are into the slightly more melodic kind of side of progressive rock, you should definitely not miss this album! It’s really good, there are no bad songs, some really damn good ones, and Berry performs them all greatly!

Band: 3.2
Title: The Rules Have Changed
Label: Frontiers
Date of release: 10/8-18
Time: 45,46
Rate: 7/10
Stand out tracks: Powerful Man