Spontaneous Combustion - Spontaneous Combustion & Triad (2on1 CD)

2 original recordings on 1 CD:

- Spontaneous Combustion (1972)
- Triad (1972)

Re-issue 2005 Mason Records

The British heavy prog trio Spontaneous Combustion consisted of drummer Tony Brock and brothers Gary and Tristian Margetts on bass, guitar and vocals. They released two albums on Harvest, and their self-titled debut was produced by Greg Lake. The first comparison that comes to mind is T2 and their classic album It'll All Work Out in Boomland, although Spontaneous Combustion only occasionally shows the same class as that album. The two best tracks are placed first and last on the album. Speed of Light features catchy melodies and vocal-riffs, and also a Moog solo. The closer Reminder combines powerful guitar-riffs with good vocal-harmonies that the band could have used more of on the rest of the record too. The songs in-between these two are lengthy, complex and competent guitar-oriented heavy prog. All the songs on the first side were obviously written by Gary Margetts, while the whole band wrote the second side, although I really can't sense much difference, neither in quality or style. But they sounded like a pretty tight unit instrumentally. This is overall a good album, but not a classic in my opinion. The cartoon inside the gatefold cover is also quite cool, featuring both the band and Greg Lake!