Nebula, hailing from L.A., has been together since 1997, and Apollo is it's fourth release. Opening up like an early Rick Ray CD, Nebula comes in somewhere between King's X and the hard-punk sound of Jeff Dahl. Apollo is filled with hard rock sensibilities, combining riff and rhythm to drive the 14 songs on the CD.
Eddie Glass on guitar and vocals pretty much dominates the CD. The best songs on the CD are ones where bassist Mark Abshire can step out a little, like on "Future Days" and "Decadent Garden". Songs range from 0:55 seconds to 4:35, and although the band does a little experimentation, in general the songs follow a standard rock structure. Songs like "The Alchemist" shows a band wanting to break out, and hopefully live they can stretch the norm a little, but overall this is a safe release.
The production quality of Apollo really was the biggest disappointment, sounding like a basement recording. The band doesn't experiment much with tempo and after a few listens the songs all kind of blend together. Nebula rocks hard and with passion, but doesn't show enough uniqueness to stand out. Recommended for fans of Rick Ray.
Track Listing
1. Orbit
2. Loose cannon
3. Fever Frey
4. Lightbringer
5. Future Days
6. Ghost Ride
7. The Alchemist
8. Trapezium Procession
9. Controlled
10. The Eagle Has Landed
11. Fruit Of My Soul
12. The Decadent Garden
13. Wired
14. Opiate Float>Orbit