The PROG MAGAZINE Review - In Humanity
PROG MAGAZINE is the largest publisher in the Progressive Rock world and the leading authority on the Prog music scene, past and present. A review of ANYONE's "In Humanity" album appears in issue #126 (January 2022). The headline reads;
"Sprawling comeback album from style-hopping west coast multi-instrumentalist".
The review goes on to state that, "Riz Story has pushed the boundaries of his self-described "Maximum Acid" sound." This observation has been echoed by the progressive rock press who have noted the sudden radical shift from the prog influenced 2021 album release of "On the ending earth..." to the extremely progressive double concept record released the following year on October 12th, 2021.
The PROG MAGAZINE review points out Story's gift for composing beautiful melodies and compares one of the albums tracks to PINK FLOYD - "The forlorn acoustic longing of 'Apocalypse' is irresistibly Floydian." This acknowledgment of Story's tendency to compose timeless melodies is a recurring theme in the reviews of the new album, and was also mentioned by DJ Jerry Lucky on his progressive radio show podcast (Podcast #27);
"I was blown away by the album ‘In Humanity’. I really loved it’s grandness, the cinematic scope, the majesty of the compositions. The neat thing about it is strong melodies! He keeps coming back to those core themes and melodies."
Another nod to Riz Story's melodic gift in the PROG MAGAZINE review is aimed at the hauntingly dystopian ballad, 'On the ending earth...' which they describe as "elegiac and swoonsome."
The PROG review calls attention to the albums highly dynamic songs and stylistic boundary-destroying sound by stating that, "The contrasts and stylistic jackknife turns keep coming..."
This observation was also made by legendary Jazz Piano Icon HERBIE HANCOCK when, after listening to 'The Pale Blue Dot', he commented that what he heard was, "Avant Garde Jazz. It has its own unique character to it. It's hard to pin down to known genres. I can't think of anything that I've been listening to that's quite like what (Riz Story) has."
Finally the review characterizes the album's captivating and groundbreaking sound, full of musical innovation and surprises by stating that, "While Story may bamboozle as often as he bewitches, he's certainly never boring."
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