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Vox Tempus first came together around January of 1997, as members of the progressive
rock band Equinox, but during the recording session for a follow-up release to 'Color of
the Time', the lineup splintered, but continued on as Equinox. As the songs were written
and recorded for the new album, the band went through several vocalists and finally, after
going through over a hundred submissions from throughout North America, the group finally
settled on Dan Reed. In late 2002, during the tail end of the mixing process, drummer Eric
Althaus chose to part ways with the band. In light of this, the band changed their name to
Vox Tempus. To date, the current line up of Vox Tempus is Ray Mantor (guitar), Jim Turba
(bass), Eric Ragno (keyboards), and Dan Reed (vocals).
With 'In the Eye of Time', these guys have hands down, the best independently made
prog-rock CD I've heard this year and if they can keep themselves together and
successfully utilize Progman Records, stand to be major players in their genre. Everything
on this debut from the packaging to production to image to playing ability is consistent
and as top-notch as a major label release.
"Prior to Vox Tempus we've all worked on different projects in a lot of
different capacities. When we started production on "In the Eye of
Time" we worked with a few people in pre-production. I ended up doing
most of the mixing of the basic tracks in my home studio...and as the
remainder of the material came together I started honing my production
skills. By the time the album was ready to be mixed everyone felt that
I should be the one to produce and mix the material because I had a
pretty solid grasp on what we were trying to achieve. It was truly a
learning experience for all of us...I think that in producing it I was
able to capture some things that may have been overlooked had someone
else done it since they wouldn't be as close to it. It's tough to pick
and choose what to keep and what to pass on when you start dissecting
your own creations. Fortunately we were able to find a good balance and
came out with something that has better production then some things we
have heard out there that were done in major studios." --Ray Mantor
Dan Reed shows both power and restrait with an amazing tone that would make Styx vocalist
Dennis DeYoung weep for the glory days of youth. His vocal control is superior to most and it
nicely compliments the guitars which are reminicsent of lighter Savatage with the
airyness of Rush's tempered chord work. The natural keys are thankfully played without a
load of showy scale runs. Two of the nine songs are instumentals, but 'Love, Lies And
Treason' clocks in at a hefty 13 minutes plus. Overall, it's not a rocker kind of disc,
though it would be a good listen on those lightly rainy days when you want to settle in
with a mug of hot tea and procrastinate.
I always expect the prog guys to have their belongings in order and Vox Tempus is proof
that great bands may not need the services of a record company. Progman Records is lucky
to partner with these guys.
On the name Vox Tempus:
"We've always had a fascination with the concept of time and music has
been a constant since the very beginning. It's always been there
regardless or the language, culture, or era. With that, it could be
said that music would be the Voice of Time. Since it captures, much
like a photo, a moment in time. Latin, being a dead
language...emphasizes the passing of time. The two combined came
together with a pretty cool sounding name that we really felt fit the
band."--Ray Mantor
The first single, For Every Life, available as a free download in its entirety at
http://www.vox-tempus.com/promo/For-Every-Life.mp3
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