Red Tree may not have enough hooks to remove it entirely from the prog-rock realm, but its tight and detailed song structures will certainly appeal to fans of more mainstream rock. Not many bands straddle that line with as much savvy as this one. Lankford sings his deep yet hopeful lyrics with an uncommon passion, lending darkness to already shaded songs. Even ballads like "9th Floor" and the more-organic "Little Girl Lost" burn with emotion. Likewise, the title track — a simmering piece with subtle blues and Middle Eastern overtones that segue into crunchy riffs — electrifies with intensity. "Darkness Inside," believe it or not, even includes a few Seattle influences, a la Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

Is Fall of Echoes a Christian album? I think so. Even though the lyrics aren't reprinted in the slim booklet, a sense of struggle to do the right thing permeates Lankford's words, and the liner notes include expressions of praise to the Lord from all four band members. But unlike Neal Morse, say, the men of Fall of Echoes don't blatantly profess their faith in these songs. Rather, they invite all fans of proficient and smart rock music (regardless of creed) to share in the spirit.

"Empty are the ones I see
In many ways they're just like me"
— "9th Floor"

Looks like Red Tree is poised to be this year's sleeper; as with "Sacred" and two songs featuring Orphan Project vocalist Shane Lankford on the normally instrumental Visual Cliff's last release, the twelve ballsy numbers here reflect an aggressiveness tempered with experience hinged on faith — and they certainly don't lack for hooks and melodies. An official new band, Fall Of Echoes takes the "2 & 2" approach: two players from Visual Cliff — guitarist Rob Pérez and V-drummer/guitarist Rick Mals — and two from Orphan Project —Lankford and bassist Bill Yost — with keyboards by third Orphan Tony Correlli. Pérez and Correlli split up the recording and mixing duties at their respective studios in Pennsylvania and Maryland; the merged tracks gel into a dozen lively organic songs that comprise, if you will, the best "non-mainstream mainstream" rock album that will appear this year. (Mals' V-drum samples do a better job of emulating a power kit here than with Visual Cliff!)

While piano, analog synth and gritty organ do surface, that's no excuse to raise the "prog" banner. Red Tree is an intense, at times heavy, at times reflective, melodic hard rock album. The most noticeable element of the production is Lankford's voice, which has finally been pinpointed, as odd as it may seem, as a cross between Scott Stapp (refrain from laughter) and an accentless Peter Murphy. Lankford's is the voice more versatile than either of those, not being limited to one octave. In fact, his vocal textures quite easily cut through the mix on those songs dominated by crunchy distorted guitars and thumping drums, e.g. "Groaning," the title track, "Land Of No Choices" and "While I'm Alive." The instrumental work on "Groaning" is deft but the vocal performance is actually the most successful component. Speaking of crunch, there are air guitar worthy-moments on Red Tree, notably "Groaning" and "Darkness Inside" (but get some time in for "Mr. Orion"). The rhythmic buzzsawing is provided by Pérez while Mals executes leads and solos (like the aforementioned "Mr. Orion"). Thematically only the title track may be construed as somewhat "preachy" in that its metaphor is an overt one. Lyrics were not printed, and should have been, as lyrically the concepts tend to pique if not provoke (for a general overview, please refer to this interview with Lankford and Pérez). With a direction firmly cemented, the music is not devoid of surprises: the opening of "Behind My Closed Eyes" consists of vocoder, analog synth and suspended guitar chords that evoke Gamma. The final tune, "While I'm Alive," is an optimistic anthem with organ, piano, and a catchy rhythmic phrase by Pérez that closes the album on a strong note. Either that, "Groaning," or "Mr. Orion" would rotate splendidly on an FM-rock format. Lankford's voice should appeal to a broad range of listeners young and old.

Fall Of Echoes will release a follow-up in 2007, and it's bound to be even more diverse as the quartet-and-sort-of-quintet has expanded to a full sextet with the addition of a dedicated drummer and fulltime keyboardist. Till then!