Post Description

4 Front biography
Imagine the ebullience of RUSH, ELP and DREAM THEATER injected with fiery jazz fusion laid out over some powerful melodies, and you'll have a good idea of what 4 FRONT sound like. They are an American trio of highly skilled musicians with impressive credentials: HAPPY THE MAN's very own drummer Joe Bergamini; guitarist-keyboardist Zak Rizvi and bassist Frank LaPlaca who have performed together for over a decade with US's premier RUSH tribute band POWER WINDOWS - LaPlaca also played with NYC rock acts ETERNAL VISION and The BUDDHA BRAINS. Under the name of 4 FRONT, they have toured extensively in the Eastern US and in Puerto Rico, opening shows for SAGA, MARILLION and KANSAS. Their material is strictly instrumental.

Rather than showing off their respective technical skills (which they'd have every reason to do), all members thankfully chose taste over self-indulgence, giving us some intelligent and mighty powerful prog that is much more than the mere sum of its elements. Take your pick from their three albums - recorded from 1996 to 2001 - and you'll alternately hear RUSH, ELP and DT plus hints of SPOCK'S BEARD, MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA and RETURN TO FOREVER as well as some Billy Joel, THE POLICE, Joe Jackson and THE DIXIE DREGS - even a little classical touch of Copland and Rachmaninoff. Extremely catchy, highly original, complex yet accessible, their material has an almost 'cinematic feel': it crackles with energy and passion yet never looses sight of intelligible hooks and melodies. The huge production, sophisticated compositions, surreal keyboards, searing guitars, intense drumming and fluid, melodic bass all make for some dynamic, ass-kicking melodic prog-fusion that can't be compared to anything.

If you ever wished bands like RUSH or DREAM THEATER dared venture into the next dimension, quickly get your hands on all of three of these albums. Hot stuff!


ARRIVAL 1996

1. Arrival (4:17) 
2. One For Jeff (3:58) 
3. Across The Sea (4:29) 
4. Simple Simon (3:06) 
5. Cyberspace (4:14) 
6. Talk Show (2:47) 
7. NYC (3:37) 
8. White Island (4:13) 
9. Things As They Are (6:55) 
10. A Star In The Hills (3:47)


GRAVITY 1998

1. Prelude (1:30) 
2. The Front (5:14) 
3. Gravity (5:08) 
4. Turbulence (2:59) 
5. Gearth (4:41) 
6. Home (4:47) 
7. Blur (5:11) 
8. Interlude (1:25) 
9. Space and Time (6:51) 
10. Dr. Chicken (Or how we learn to stop worrying and love the studio) (8:23) 
11. Jamon (4:01) 
12. Ultraviolence (2:43) 
13. A Dying wish (7:28) 
Bonus Track on second edition 
14. Acid Cowboy * (4:21) 



RADIO WAVES GOODBYE 2001

1. Airtime (1:58) 
2. Tunnel Vision (5:53) 
3. Hideaway (3:21) 
4. Special Patrol Group (3:00) 
5. Space Oddity 2001 (6:34) 
6. Burial At Sea (5:13) 
7. Fuse (4:05) 
8. Learning to Crawl (5:53) 
9. 747 (2:21) 
10. Memories of Kansas (5:54) 
11. Descent (5:23) 
12. Radio Waves Goodbye (4:32)


MALICE IN WONDERLAND 2012

1. Big Scary Monster (5:14)
2. Latitude (5:20)
3. Hairless Ape (3:08)
4. Shadows Of Doubt (4:02)
5. Half Night (5:52)
6. The Wastelands Express (3:21)
7. Crescent Moon (4:01)
8. Many Places In A Rush (5:05)
9. Barrow St. (3:31)
10. Runaway Train (Pt. II Of Tunnel Vision) (7:26)

Line-up / Musicians
- Zak Rizvi / guitars & keyboards, bass on "One For Jeff" 
- Joe Bergamini / drums 
- Frank LaPlaca / bass