IMPRESSIONS (Great Britain), November 1999, pp. 23-24

Ed Macan is a man of many skills. Not only is he an accomplished author (Rocking the Classics and the forthcoming ELP Biography), he is also a very skillful musician and composer. The latter could not be presented better than on the new CD by Hermetic Science. Here Ed’s mastery is glowing. This man plays a whole load of instruments, including keyboards, mallet percussion, and soprano recorder. Other members of the band include Nate Perry on bass guitar and Matt McClimon on drums and percussion.

The centerpiece of this new album is the six-movement, 42-minute Prophesies suite. This suite is very varied and has a good mix between jazz and progressive rock, which works very well. Ed Macan’s use of mallet percussion is an unusual concept for this sort of music, with his vibraphone and marimba playing keyboard-like passages. It is very melodic and brings an extraordinary sound and depth to the music. His skills on the keys, in particular the Steinway grand piano and Hammond organ, is equally impressive. This music is truly beautiful and becomes better and better with each listen. The key to good music! It is so refreshing to hear something new and entirely different and this has got all those qualities.

The CD also includes a cover of Rush’s “Jacob’s Ladder” and, most importantly for ELP fans, a killer live 19 minute piano version of the entire Tarkus suite, performed live at the Shannon Center for the Performing Arts in California in April 1992. Stunning!

Liv G. Whetmore