When Planet X wasn’t a supergroup (yet)
On 13 July 1999, the Magna Carta label released Planet X, a high-class progressive rock record, which was the first solo project by Derek Sherinian. Suffice to say, the following year this led to the formation of a supergroup of the same name whose vision, according to Sherinian, was “to find musicians that played their instruments so fiercely, it would strike fear into the hearts of other musicians when they played”. But that is another story… Now, back to the record from 1999.
Brett Garsed
To create Planet X, Derek Sherinian surrounded himself with musicians of the calibre of Brett Garsed (guitar), Tony Franklin (bass guitar) and the multi-talented Virgil Donati (drums).
We are Gymtar, so it’s imperative to do justice to Brett Garsed with our review of this album. Although he’s not the main character in this story, he shines through with his Ibanez Universe 7 strings and gives us one of his best ventures outside of his normal rock-fusion style. In an interview originally published on the Rock Reunion website about this album he said: “musically it kicked my ass!! It was definitely the most technically challenging stuff I’d ever played on”.
Now, this album is definitely NOT a guitar-centred manifesto. Brett Garsed doesn’t play many solos and he often sounds way too far “behind” in the mix. Perhaps Planet X doesn’t give him the space he deserves, but he blows your mind regardless. This is a story of quality over quantity.
Planet X tracklist
Planet X opens with “Atlantis”, asuite of 3 self-contained pieces that complete each other perfectly.
- “Apocalypse 1470 BC” is the user manual of the entire album. Garsed and Sherinian shout loudly and clearly, showing what the foundations of Planet X are built on. Quality, precision and timing are displayed with awesome confidence. Anyone listening to this opening knows that from this point on these guys play hard.
- “Sea Of Antiquity:” Haven’t we said that each piece completes one another? Well, in this track the storm has died down and the soft atmosphere gives you some time to take a breath.
- “Lost Island”: A worthy conclusion for this trilogy, written in 7/8. The perfect compromise between the first two movements.
With “Crab Nebulae”, the following track, the tempo evolves and changes in an endless metamorphosis, but it’s with “Box” that Virgil Donati on drums graces us with the best of his art. In response to this, Derek Sherinian takes the throne with his soloing skills in the energetic, “MoneyShot”. The next song, “Day in the Sun” takes no risks with a careful construction. Then Planet X surprises us once again with another contrast for our ears with “State of Delirium”.This is a relentless and slow passage. The next song, “Space Martini” is another moment of glory for Virgil Donati’s fast-paced double bass drum set.
Then, in the closer, “Bruneri Babylon”, Sherinan’s synth warms us up with pleasant guitar-like sounds.
Overall, Planet X is a must-have record.