Bassist Joel Bissing combines with guitarist John Miner and drummer Wayne Garabedian to form Mantra Sunrise. The self-titled album contains typical Miner compositions, songs that have plenty of activity in the background with vocals that tend to be very dramatic in nature. Bissing is a much better vocalist than Miner and this tends to give the songs a little more life than some of his more recent Art Rock Circus releases.
The first song "Why" is one of the most accessible and has a nice groove, with okay vocals. Songs like this , "Casino", and "Dying Day" show the promise when an entire song has been thought out and has more than one idea. "Brudenell" is a nice instrumental that shows why Miner is such a popular guest performer.
"Time Of Year", and "Northern Light" are songs that are built around a riff, but seem incomplete, in much the same way as many Rick Ray compositions. The mini-epic "Land Of Sprinagar" may be the most frustrating of the songs on Mantra Sunrise, since it shows so much promise, but the non-focused ramblings that plague much of Miner's work keep this from being the highlight of the CD. Still, there are some brilliant moments here.
This is not very far from an Art Rock Circus release, and if you like Miner there and as the guitarist for K2, this should appeal to you. For me, there just isn't enough substance to get me from start to finish.
Track Listing
1. Why
2. Time Of Year
3. Brudenell
4. Dying Day
5. Sleeping Whales
6. Northern Light
7. Your Heart (accoustic)
8. Your Heart
9. Casino
10. Land Of Sprinagar
Master's Theme
The Apprentice
Shperes Of Influence
Ethereal Nature Of God
Telepathy
Return Of Master
11. Mantra Sunset
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