Venturing forth from the darkest traditions of progressive rock, Ant Graham's Noise626 project seems to grow in stature with each release and with that stature, the quotient of doom increases likewise. The clues are there for all to see: the title of his third long player is 'An Infinite Shade Of Gray', the disquieting giggling that begins the record and no one needs to be told that second track 'The Laughter Never Stops' is meant to be ironic. The key tracks are 'Madness And Sublime Rapture'; part stark minimalist electronica and part aggressive rocker with female co-vocals, then light relief arrives via 'Ripping' thanks to a pretty electronic melody and finally, 'I Am Lost As You Are Lost' is an impressive evocation of bleak desperation. Yet, for a largely humour-free record, only the final fifteen-minute long title song outlasts its welcome. Otherwise, Graham delivers his message in a manner that is compelling; never threatening to suffocate the listener.

"In recent times, Progressive rock has evolved into more that what the ‘classic’ bands gave us over 30 years ago. Now musicians are combining other styles of music outside of Progressive Rock to create a fresh outlook on a genre that always gets an odd look from those with unadventurous closed minds.
I was told by a friend of a band called Noise626 that deserved my listening attention. The name alone conjured up some preconceived thoughts but I tried my best to blocked them until I had a chance to hear the music. Leader and sole musician, Ant Graham sent me Noise626’s third cd 'An Infinite Shade Of Gray'. Any preconceived thoughts were soon washed away when I heard the CD. The music can be best described as both Gothic and Progressive Rock with some electronica and modern rock thrown in. One difference I hear is the primary use of organic instruments as the framework rather than all programmed. To me this gives a warm ‘human’ feel rather that a cold processed one found by many of today’s bands.

Aside from being the sole musician, Ant provides much of the vocals, which reminds me of a mixture of David Bowie (Berlin-era) and Peter Gabriel (current). Ant is joined on a few tracks by vocalist Megiddeh Goldston, who takes lead on 'Madness And Sublime Rapture'. This happens to be my favorite song on the cd because it combines all of the elements I previously mentioned.

For the prog fans, there’s the epic title track that closes the CD which to is a haunting gothic ambient space piece. Think of a darker version of Pink Floyd with Bowie or Gabriel on lead vocals. I will admit this is CD that requires a few listens before you can fully appreciate it’s beauty. So if you’re an open minded must fan, prog or other, this is a must have. Since I’m not familiar with the other two releases, I can’t make comparisons but 'An Infinite Shade Of Gray'. is a well produced, well written CD that caught my attention and now it need yours."

An Infinite Shade of Gray - Noise626 and The Dark Side of Prog

Pros
A perfect blend of Goth and Prog for the adventurous listener

Cons
None, this is true musical bliss

The Bottom Line
An Infinite Shade of Gray was one of 2006's lost gems, deserving of your listening time.

Listening. Some CD's are actually recorded specifically for listening. Not rocking out, not bouncing off the walls like some inert ping-pong ball, but simply listening. Multi-instrumentalist/one-man project/the man does everything - Ant Graham is Colorado Springs-based Noise626, and his 2006 release An Infinite Shade of Gray is just such a CD-listen to it.

Possessing a fondness for both dark, gothic music and deep-thinking prog rock, Graham has combined elements of each for a recording that fans of Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and even Tool can appreciate. But: you have to listen.

Last one out, lights the fuse Imagine a world-weary Bowie - Graham is one of those lucky bastards blessed with a Bowie-like voice (well, Bowie with some Peter Gabriel, actually) - imagine this weary Thin White Duke crooning over a dark, ominous rock soundtrack, all droning guitars and a black, thick bass line - imagine that and you have Crown, the CD's wonderfully threatening opener. Last one out, shuts the cage ahhh and did I neglect to mention the menacing little Tool-style interlude, complete with an Adam Jones-esque guitar solo? Adam Jones! Tool! Impressive tune, this Crown, impressive, indeed. Listen.

And then there's Ripping, a majestic, theatrical track that Peter Gabriel would be proud to call his own (or, at the very least, would sound perfect in the middle of a Gabriel record.) And I Am Lost As You Are Lost and a gloomy bass line just dripping despair I Am Lost As You Are Lost each fat, vibrating wire riddled with the utter hopelessness of a moody Labradford track as run through The Cure's doom room. And if The Cure had recorded this song we'd already have 43 reviews on here about how fantastic Robert Smith is: atmospheric Robert Smith guitar! I Am Lost As You Are Lost and Swimming the Same Deep Water As You is hard and whoa! Groooovy psychedelic Robert Smith guitar! Fantastic! Ahh yes but it's Ant Graham, Noise626 and it's, well, equally fantastic.

And then, of course, there's An Infinite Shade of Gray, an epic, 15 1/2-minute-epic! - an elongated Pink Floydian piece that starts innocently enough before descending into gloomy madness. Hell, Graham has even included a brilliantly-bizarre spoken-word thing called The Insanity Piece, as if anything called The Insanity Piece could be anything but...and Insanity pen Karen Sucharski recites it so...insanely...and this song, this Infinite Shade of Gray is so...such a goddamn trip...so darkly brilliant...so...Floyd!

Indeed, An Infinite Shade of Gray is a keeper, a testament to the value of the independent artist, releasing music that's infinitely more interesting than whatever is playing on your local Clear Channel outlet. I've mentioned Floyd, Gabriel, Bowie, etc., but this is not merely a copycat effort - Noise626 is putting out fantastic, worthwhile music; all you need to do is listen.

I listen to every album received here. Once. I make notes on some cuts, and then listen to those again, of course. There are cuts I literally listen to 100's of times. You see those listen on the daily blog for eartaste.

Occasionally, tho, I get an album like this. This is more of an art-piece. The tracking is such that one song complements the next, and it's simply an album that needs to be heard all the way through to fully appreciate.

When I put this album in and started listening to it I was immediately entranced. The sound was superb & the music was melting all my pores (that's a good thing). I literally entered another dimension. I didn't even bother to take notes like I usually do. Then the album ended. The silence actually hurt. My brain was demanding outlet. I seriously was unable to tackle another CD - afraid of breaking the trance with something less powerful (which most stuff is, of course). So, I did the next best thing - played the album through again. Just as powerful the second time.

If you know me, and most folks who read my blog kinda know my tastes, I cannot sit still through a song that lasts 16 minutes. Oh sure, I get a lot of those things here. Mostly they just ramble and have no real purpose, or worse repeat over and over. The title cut on this CD goes for 16 minutes, and time stands still. The mere fact that I listened to this twice in one day says something about it's power.

It happened with In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. I listened to that over and over for awhile. Now I just pull it out once a year. Alice's Restaurant - same thing. Once a year. Dark Side Of The Moon - once a month - I know, technically it's not one cut, but the album feels like one long cut to me. I think An Infinite Shade Of Gray will be there with Dark Side Of The Moon as one of my once a month listens. I'm not 100% positive, but it certainly has that feel for me. Right now I'm still in the 2 or 3 times a day phase.

Very nice album. Check out the website. You can hear cuts - but I assure you it's not the same experience as listening all the way through: http://www.noise626.com/

Eventually I'll pick a cut or two to feature on eartaste this month, but for now I'm simply being selfish and listening to the music myself. Get your own copy at CD Baby.

I had to listen to the album “An Infinite Shade of Gray” from the first till the last note, to discover that someone who calls himself Noise626 doesn’t make noise at all.

After pressing ‘play’ again, I was delighted to hear that Ant Graham (responsible for guitars, bass, drums, programming, synths and vocals aka everything) makes spherical, experimental rock. Think Porcupine Tree or even Pink Floyd.

Eight songs are presented, of which the closing tune takes more than fifteen minutes of beautiful experimenting. One thing I’m really happy with, is that Noise636 never really loses control. To my opinion, it happens too often that an experimental acts just doesn’t know when to stop freaking and adding more instruments and musical layers. Ant Graham seems to know precisely when enough is really enough. Outstanding tracks are ‘Madness and the Sublime Rapture’, the goosbumps creating ‘I Am Lost As You Are Lost’ and the long spun out closing track ‘An Infinite Shade Of Gray’.

Biggest minus about Noise626 is that Ant takes care of almost all the singing. Only on ‘Madness and the Sublime Rapture’ a girl called Megiddeh Goldston takes the lead. On some other trakcs there are female vocalist present, but their contribution is mixed too far to the background most of the times. And since the singing of Ant Graham isn’t very convincing and doesn’t know any variation, these contributions are simply not enough. My advice to Noise626 is to make use of guestvocalists more. Because overall, the mood is very good and the composition well thought-out and professionally played.

The good thing about discovering new bands/songwriters like Noise626, is that you get the chance to hear music that will never be available over the airwaves, no small thanks to our friends at Clear Channel. This is especially true when the new music you have discovered can be found in songs that are longer than the proscribed 3 minutes and 30 seconds maximum that can also be found on our airwaves. In this sense, at least no one can tell us what to listen to!

The downside (for lack of a better word) to this process of discovering music that's off the current popular radar is, well, at least sometimes trying to define exactly what kind of music you are listening to at any given moment! Some would say anything over the 3m 30s limit isn't music, but rather self indulgence by the artist. I would say such people have a myopic view of music. Most "good" music is much longer than the time limits imposed upon us by our musical overlords that control our airwaves and tell most of us not only what we can listen to, but what is supposedly "good" music.

So, where does Noise626 fit into this vast world of known and unknown music? Good question! As I've already hinted at, Noise626 is beyond the common limits of today's popular music scene. This isn't to say the music is bad, just that the songs on the CD, The Art of Falling Forward, are longer than deemed acceptable by said overlords.

Musically speaking, I find Noise626 hard to define or categorize. This is a good thing! I am not much in the mood to hear the same old, same old from various artists. However, I am none too sure how to define Noise626 for you, the reader. Overall, I would probably have to limit myself and categorize them (???) as something between Avante Garde and Performance Art music but on the more contemporary and less experimental side of these styles.

According to the cover notes, it seems Noise 626 is actually something of a one person band, in the guise of one Ant Graham. Does this make Noise626 a band or a songwriter releasing music? Hmmm.. I'd say both in this sense even though Ant Graham has done almost all of the music tracks himself.

There are only five tracks on this release: Ghost, Forgetful, Pray, Away and The Art of Falling Forward (which has 4 subtracks). Like I said above, this is something of Avante Garde/Performance Art, but the music flows nicely. The vocals are often more spoken than actually sung, but in this case it is well done. My favorite track is probably The Art of Falling Forward. It has a lot of nice instrumentation and is quite moody at times. Unfortunately, the lyrics are not printed in the CD booklet. I get the feeling there is a rather real story behind all of these songs, especially this one.

As I said, I can't draw any real comparisons of Noise626 to other bands. Take a listen yourself. Some of you will enjoy it very much. Some of you won't. But at least we have an artist out there trying to make music that's both personal, out of the ordinary, and, dare I say it??!?! somewhat Progressive. Imagine that!

Not a bad effort. I'd give this one 6.5 out of 10 keyboards - but that's mainly because I'd like to hear Ant Graham with a real band behind him...

Independent releases are sometimes so reminiscent of the bands who influenced them, that they sound contrived; struggling to forge an identity of their own. Ant Graham is an artist who doesn't suffer this failing. A few guest contributions aside, Graham's Noise626 project is defined as "gothic progressive rock". But before anyone recoils in horror at the idea that two of the most notoriously self-indulgent genres should merge together, the blend actually works and on a more consistent basis than his 'Art Of Falling Forward' debut. The likes of 'We Can Build You' and 'Appelez-L'un Jour (Part 3)' meander down several dark alleys taking on breakbeat as well as grimy post-punk guitars whilst Graham's own vocals sound determined yet fearful; struggling to make sense of a world gone wrong. But musically most things are right and the instrumental tracks are just as riveting. Additionally 'Light Goes To Dark' is a ballad of admirable vulnerability and 'The Breaking' is satisfyingly ambient in texture. Surprisingly it's the live version of 'Ghosts' - a song from his last album - which is perhaps the most riveting performance on offer. An invitingly dark body of work from a real individual.

Anthony Graham started his career out in Colorado in 1991, playing the guitar for a gothic band called Mime of Sin and Repent. Since that date a lot of things have happened both mind and spirit and his way of understanding the music. He has brilliantly composed the music and has recorded it in a masterful way. He has also rediscovered the acoustic guitar, and with this he has created the band Noise626.

After the 2004 Colorado Dark Arts Festival and thanks to his songs in his first album "The Art of Falling Forward," Anthony has come out with a second album "A Thin Cold Line" where he presents music like Pink Floyd and entertwines it with alternative rock and gothic music.

"A Thin Cold Line" is an album of 10 songs including a live version of "Ghosts." recorded at a night club in Denver. Anthony's music starts out strong from the first song "Connections" where he submerges us into his world . The album "A Thin Cold Line" breaks the calm with a rhythm similar to Soundgarden that whispers with a raspy voice.

In the album there are other songs that play with our minds with a concept that is well defined. Voices from the past seem to reinvent the present with songs like "We Can Build You" and creates a clausterphobic atmosphere that leaves you breathless.

"The Mirror" is a song that has might have been heard in a Japanese horror movie. It will scare you and the music in this song is fantastic. The instrumental "Heart of Dusk" leaves everyone that hears it with an out of this world understanding. Anthony's voice in his songs is incredible especially in his songs "Appelez-I'un jour (part 3) and the acoustic guitars and programs create an incredible atmosphere.

His strongest and best song is "Ghost" where it is the last song on the album. It is a great song.

Gothic progressive rock" is how the press release describes Noise626's debut album. It's a fitting description for the work of Ant Graham too. Peter Gabriel is the obvious influence here, both in terms of Graham's weary, soothing and (at the same time) troubled vocal and the Genesis-like tendency to let songs meander into non-conformist song structure. To remind us that we are in the 21st Century, the odd trip-hop and electronic effects are thrown in adding to the mixture of acoustic rock (the pretty Mike Oldfield-like guitar patterns of 'Away') and lo-fi grunge (often used on the concept-led second half of the album). The first half of the album is very good indeed; whilst retaining the ability to stir emotions - whether it be hope or despair - the refreshingly original arrangements touch on a unique sound that is rare on modern day independent releases. An encouraging beginning.

Lyrically creative and musically haunting, this concept/rock opera disc will take some time to digest but the taste is what it's all about. The vocals are pure David Bowie-like and the sound is a lot like what Bowie and Nine Inch Nails have been doing the last few years - pure spaced-out gothic noise. The spoken word/vocal arrangements spill poetic pain throughout with confusion about faith, loss, obsession, pain and a distorted sense of what is happening around you. It's like a man running from and around responsibilities within his own life. This moody disc moves between progressive bass guitar, eerie-melodic goth with acoustics and enough originality to make it through the night. (JC)