A Review by Baby Butter

Mike Murray is a Toronto Guitarist who has been working with the top talents in Toronto like Yiannis Kapoulas and Paul DeLong. He has broken through the shell of his personal egg and has revealed his debut CD- Horizon.
It begins with a grand opening in true progressive rock style. He hits the ground with a solid driving force like a machine built to drive. If you are into Dream Theater or Joe Satriani this is your track.
He gets “Back in the Game” and comes out swinging. This one has a splash of funk to it mixed in to the hard rock sound. By the third song “Farishta”, it becomes that classic pensive piece to slow you down and digs at a deeper meaning. I love his wonderful twisting solo that transcends in an exuberant place for open souls to fly.
“Twin Seas” is very turbulent and unforgiving as it jostles you in every direction trying to make you sea sick. It worked; I threw up my feed listening to this one. Have no fear the pace quickly changes again with “January Changes”, as you become absorbed in the moment, this slow evolution climbs through many different moments and if you listen carefully, I swear I hear remnants of the Beatles Yesterday in there.
Mike goes back to the blues with this rocker that has a very Stevie Ray Vaughan edge to it. Not only is Mike going for as much variety as possible in this debut record, he added enough familiar styles to keep the listeners engaged.
With “Until Then”, you will meander through a journey that slowly builds itself into a smooth monument. It may feel large like the Rocky Mountains but the landscape is continually polished. It is a very fulfilling track.
As we come in for a landing with “Horizon Reprise”, Mike bookends this CD well with another very progressive piece of music. I had a clucking good time listening to this that I am going to leave you and put it on again. This one gets a Golden egg.
If you want to hear this and get a digital copy just cluck this link…
▶︎ Horizon | Mike Murray (bandcamp.com)