www.rockreport.be

6/7 STARS

It seems like the good guys at Escape Music keep on releasing albums from Swiss bands. But contrary to last month’s “Overheated” from Polution, this “Wasted Time” from Appearance Of Nothing is much more interesting.
Believe it or not, but it was under the name No Thanx that this band was founded by vocalist / guitarist Pat Gerber and drummer Yves Lüthi in the 90s. Like so many other bands, the first years were spent with rehearsing and playing cover material. When two of the original No Thanx members had left the band, Omar Cuna (v, b) and Marc Petralito joined and this line-up change marked the real start for what was to become Appearance Of Nothing. The band members soon started to write material of their own. As they couldn’t find a suitable singer though, the decision was made that Gerber should take care of that.
When it was time to record their debut album, no one else than Markus Teske (Symphony X, Vanden Plas),

was asked to produce it and it has to be said: the sound is solid as a rock! The line-up changed once more, when the band recruited ex-Daydreamer guitarist Peter Berger, allowing Pat Gerber some more space behind the mike, where he also got some help from Omar Cuna as second lead vocalist.
Believe me when I say that it isn’t a waste of time to check out “Wasted Time”, the debut album from AON. Agreed, the band members have listened very careful to material of their idols Dream Theater, Symphony X and Vanden Plas, but what they offer us is certainly no copy, but home made material written in the best tradition. Just listen to the 3-part song “The Science Of Light” (14:37) to hear for yourself what these guys are capable of. We mainly know Escape Music for their (re)releases in the AOR/melodic rock field, but with this album they prove they’re open to other HR/HM-subgenres as well. Congratulations, Khalil and Appearance Of Nothing. Great debut album! (CL)