NYC Prog Trio Consider the Source recently released their emphatic new musical statement upon the world - World War Trio Part I - and now with the double CD release of the latter two parts, well, it's still a mighty fine message, at that. Their first studio release in four years saw Part I emerge late last year, but here and now we have World War Trio (Parts II + III) on our hands. Always conceived as a quite brilliant musical venture to be released over three discs, World War Trio (Parts II + III) is an incredible double hit of Prog rock goodness!

In fact, the idea was that each of the EPs from the instrumental trio will be issued separately, the first, World War Trio (Part 1) released just this past Halloween. Indeed, you might recall that the first EP, or chapter as it were, featured 'Put Another Rock in that Bag,' a twenty-five minute piece in six parts (although parts five and six are combined into the one track).

With everything having been recorded at Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, and funded by a very successful Indiegogo campaign, these World War Trio CDs are, simply put, amazing to behold. Drawing from progressive rock, fusion and jazz, the guitar riffs, the bass depths, the drum backing all merge as one to create a kaleidoscope of, some might say, "extraterrestrial" sound.

It must be said, as the frenetic guitar work of Gabriel Marin combined with the furious drumming of Jeff Mann on 'Many Worlds of Disapproval' from the start of Part II, that Consider the Source are most deservedly known as a band at the top of their game. An immense power trio of Prog and fusion, if I'm any judge, the transitions some of these songs go through are flawless.

Chock full of emotive musical passages, ghostly musical wanderings, their collective, and heartfelt time spent together creating this masterful work of Prog is obviously time well spent. The delicate guitar work of Marin comes to the fore beautifully on a lot of these tracks, as you would expect by now, but their creative mish-mash of sounds soon becomes grounded with the backbone bass of John Ferrara. Then, and once all three men have found their way, the distorted, off kilter approach of the track at hand is rightfully steadied.

This brand new double album begins with the trio of masterful technicians' progressive rock, metal and jazz foundation, then draws from Middle Eastern and Indian traditions. Balancing shifting moods and tempos, cerebral and emotional jabs and intellectual and primal pursuits into a dynamic audio experience, Consider The Source are fully knowledgeable of their own musical limitations.

The bands compositional skills are once again unleashed on the angelic 'This Dubious Honor,' but one of my personal favorites is the Renaissance rock out of 'One Hundred Thousand Fools.' My goodness, I could listen to this rock/funk track all day and all night. The passion behind it is overwhelmingly fun, and culminates in a grand track. A spoken-word intro takes us flying into 'Up To But Not To Exceed ... Woah,' which whilst not being my favorite track, still houses some good intentions.

With a fair few of the tracks on Part II very melodic, very orchestrated, fun and even bouncy at times, Part III opens with the stunning Middle Eastern vibe of 'A Monument to Compromise (Faux Clarinet),' a truly delightful romp of art. However, my favorite track has to be the guitar augment of the 'So Say We All' trilogy. Especially Part II, it is a defining moment of this second disc of the three part overall trilogy.

In closing, it must be brought to the fore that Consider the Source's epic grand vision of an Opus, featuring en masse moments of purposefully orchestrated musical confusion, seemingly improvised works of art, and a neverending bent towards culling the defining source of what is currently existing, or occurring in the space between galaxies, is unlike any intergalactic musical romp I have ever had the pleasure to musical undertake.

www.youtube.com/considerthesource