John Macaluso is on of rocks most regarded drummers with a resume that runs from ARK to Yngwie Malmsteen. His world class drumming has appeared on some 200 releases to date. With “The Radio Waves Goodbye” John finally gets to step out with his own project. It’s a collection of 13 tracks covering many tempos and styles.

Sonically the album sounds thoroughly modern and the mix is full and very state of the art. On the first few plays I did wonder whether I would warm to the album. Many tracks hit the spot straightaway but some have taken longer to reveal their character.

From the start you are left in no doubt that John is a drummer as he stomps his very musical sounding kit over every track. The rhythms on each track are all stunningly different. John has traveled the world and picked up many styles from listening to foreign rhythms. As John says” I put all these influences together to form the writing style. The music is more keyboard heavy than guitar based and has a very airy, creepy sound with heavy and sometimes speedy drumming which is actually relaxing at certain high tempos!”.

Opening track “Soul In Your Mind” is a dark and heavy slab of modern rock. It feels almost industrial with all the drums hammering away in the background. Vocals come from James LaBrie (Dream Theater) who puts in one of his trademark soaring performances.

“Mother Illusion” positively “zooms” along. It has a very science fiction like quality and at times the music was almost pushing me away rather than inviting me in to listen. Mike Dimoe puts in a great vocal performance and gives the song some soul.

“Prayer Pill” has Macaluso going round his kit like a possessed Phil Collins. Think of those drums on “In The Air Tonight” and you’ll get a handle on the drum sound. It’s a very eerie song and full of unusual textures.

“Dissolved” romps along with that bouncy feel that one gets when listening to “Fanfare For the Common Man” by E.L.P. There are some great melodic moments and lots of unusual layers make an intriguing track.

“Gates To Bridges” is one of my favourites from the album. This has a great dark metal vibe. Sort of Black Sabbath meets Porcupine Tree. There is some great mellow guitar moments tempered with a great biting guitar solo.

“Shimmering Grey” has a gentle Pink Floyd influence running through it but the chorus keeps things in “the now” with its modern feel.

“T-34” is an instrumental with keyboard maestro Vitalij Kuprij putting in a stellar performance. It has neo-classical overtones and one imagines if Macaluso wanted to turn his hand to soundtrack music he could do so with ease.

“Staring Pain” is a well crafted, mesmerizing dark tale. The chorus is very cool but the verses sometimes had me a bit lost. A nice guitar solo glues the song together.

“Pretzel” is John Macaluso’s “The Audience Is Listening” for drums. You could even say it was the drum equivalent of Van Halen's “Eruption”. Every part of his kit is used and abused and comes leaping out of the speakers. I was exhausted just listening to it.

“Yesterday I’ll Understand” has a sort of Led Zeppelin vibe. It’s the vocals and the drumming that do it. This track just gets better on each listen. It’s musical and clever all at the same time.

“The Six Foot Under Happy Man” is a real left turn. Its sort of Glen Miller meets Sinatra over a coffee with Frank Zappa.It’s crazy and very unsusal. You’ll either love this track or jump to the fast forward button. I would say give it a shot you might get a buzz from it.

“Things You Should Not Know” is a song that has great ingredients but somehow one that I found difficult to warm to. I struggled to “feel” the songs melodies and was unsure as to where this song was heading. Alex Masi saves the song with a great guitar solo, which brings some form and melody to the track.

The final track is “Away With Words” and it is at times sinister but also optimistic and pretty all at the same time. It’s predominantly instrumental and very intriguing to the listener.

“The Radio Waves Goodbye” is an entertaining listening experience littered with wonderful musicians who bring different flavours to each tack. One senses there has been a lot of time, effort and love lavished on this project. Drummers will really “dig” Johns playing which at times is truly outstanding and never short of spectacular. My only personal feeling is that sometimes it lacks a heart. Maybe it’s all the new and unusual textures which sound alien to me. There is something, which just stops me short from wanting to keep revisiting the album regularly. It’s a fine album and sounds fabulous but sometimes the “creepy” vibe just gets a little bit too much. In bite size chunks however it may give a completely different listening experience. One thing for sure John has made and album, which sounds original and very unusual and on that note the album deserves to be heard.

Let us know your views on The Radio Waves Goodbye

Track Listing

Soul In Your Mind
Mother Illusion
The Prayer Pill
Dissolved
Gates To Bridges
Shimmering Grey
T-34
Staring "Pain"
Pretzel
Yesterday I'll Understand
The Six Foot Under Happy Man
Things You Should Not Know
Away With Words