Search - At War With Self, Snelwar/Manring/Zonder :: Torn Between Dimensions

Kenneth W. (Eyesore) from TAUNTON, MA
Reviewed on 12/4/2007...

At War With Self is an all-instrumental progressive rock/metal project consisting of Glenn Snelwar (ex-Gordian Knot), Mark Zonder (Warlord, ex-Fates Warning), and world-renowned studio musician Michael Manring. Normally not a fan of instrumental music, I found myself drawn to this album simply for the amazing cover art done by the always excellent Travis Smith. (I currently own eighty-four CDs with artwork designed by Smith.) Artwork aside, Torn Between Dimensions is actually a very solid album.

Musically the album covers a lot of ground, making the title, Torn Between Dimensions, paint a very accurate picture. The album sways from melodic passages filled with acoustics, piano, and Manring's amazing fretless bass work -- which is nothing short of brilliant! -- to very heavy progressive metal a la Zero Hour and Canvas Solaris (another great instrumental prog-metal band). Standouts include "The God Interface," the atmospheric "A Gap In The Stream Of Mind, Pt. 2," "Run," a shorter but heavier number, and the title track.

At War With Self is gearing up to release their sophomore release, Acts Of God, and from the demos posted online it would appear that this album will feature a vocalist; whether or not this will work is unknown, but the demos sound very good. Either way, Torn Between Dimensions is a great album not to be overlooked by fans of this style.

Website: http://www.glennsnelwar.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/atwarwithself

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Pure instrumental bliss

Matthew Tedesco | Evansville, WI USA | 12/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My goodness, what an album! Glenn Snelwar (who I am previously familiar with only through his contributions to Sean Malone's Gordian Knot) has put together the ideal trio here for bringing to life his compositions, in bassist Michael Manring (Attention Deficit, Sadhappy, etc.) and drummer Mark Zonder (Fates Warning). The music is very much in the vein of the Gordian Knot projects: all instrumental, heavily composed, ethereal and moody, with an emphasis on atmosphere over pyrotechnics. Make no mistake, the musicianship is peerless, but this is not an exercise in musicianship over and above composition, as some supergroups sometimes seem to be (some have criticized the Liquid Tension Experiment projects for this, for example).



This project is a particularly nice showcase for Manring's stunning fretless bass work. The man can bring forth sounds from his Zon Hyperbass that will give you chills.



I really cannot recommend this album highly enough for anyone who is a fan of excellent compositions and top-notch musicianship. What a treat."

Top-Notch Grooves

Russ Bellinger | Bradenton, Florida USA | 08/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These guys are awesome. Although it reminds me in some ways of the Gordian Knot music, it lends it's own unique spin on high-tech futuristic instrumental fusion music. It is melodic too. The guitarist even sounds at times like Robert Fripp or David Torn. Nice ideas that are a pleasure to hear. I am also a long-time fan of Micheal Manring and his bass playing adds alot to this music. The biggest surprise was definately to see Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder playing this stuff. I love Fates Warning's music too, but it definately leans more towards Prog-Metal type stuff. So to see him venturing out into this style of music was very interesting. Although I guess it is not all that surprising since guitarist Jim Matheos of Fates Warning has played not only on the Gordian Knot CDs, but also with OSI as well. All these guys just keep putting out the most advanced, most interesting music on the planet. I absolutely love it and cannot get enough of it."