Arch Echo - "Final Pitch"

For those who don't want to wait another twenty years for LTE4

Arch Echo is a five-piece Prog Metal group based in Nashville. And, I should note, none of the five members are vocalists. There are two guitars, a bass, a keyboard, and drums.

This is very Dream Theater prog, too; Prog Metal is a rather diverse genre at this point, and there’s a particular section of it which is sort -of headlined by Dream Theater, who are internationally recognized. If there’s a “mainstream” Prog Metal band, it would be Dream Theater.

Arch Echo are clearly heavily inspired by DT, stylistically. The guitar lines sound like Petrucci had a hand in writing them. Arch Echo have also toured with DT.

Oh, and the second track on Final Pitch features Mr. Liquid Metal, himself: Jordan Rudess.

In case it isn’t clear, fans of Dream Theater will find plenty to love on this album; fans of Liquid Tension Experiment might just shit themselves.

The nine tracks on Final Pitch are all this blend of tight-but-sprawling compositions, ranging from just over four-and-a-half minutes in length to the 5:43 runtime of “Aluminosity” (the aforementioned Rudess-feature track). These are excellent instrumentals.

The band is perfectly in-sync at every turn. The songs feature incredible melodies and musicianship. Some might expect instrumentals to just be, basically, jam sessions. But a good instrumental has structure, just as any other song with vocals is generally formed around those vocals, instrumentals also generally feature a central element, and the other elements move with and support that central melody as the song progresses. And the last time I heard an album made up of such phenomenal instrumentals…was John Petrucci’s Terminal Velocity (2020).

There is one track on the album with vocals: title track “Final Pitch” features guest vocals from Anthony Vincent. Adrián Terrazas-González also provides the track with sax and woodwind to further build out the track. Naturally, I think it’s one of the best on the album. 

I’m a vocalist. I’m biased.

If you’re looking for some good prog or solid instrumental music, I definitely recommend this one.

Rating: Teal Green