The Whirlwind

Occupation

• Neal Morse
• Roine Stolt
• Pete Trewavas
• Mike Portnoy

The Whirlwind is the third studio album by the progressive rock supergroup Transatlantic. It appeared in 2009 on InsideOut Music.

Creation and publication

Neal Morse, Roine Stolt, Pete Trewavas and Mike Portnoy came after several years' hiatus as a Transatlantic together to record a third studio album. As a guest musician Chris Carmichael (strings ), Marc Papeghin (French Horn ), Collin Leijenaar, Henk Doest and Jessica Koomen ( snap fingers ) were involved. The Whirlwind was mixed by Rich Mouser and mastered by Robert Vosgien at Capitol Mastering in Hollywood. It also appeared two limited versions of the album with bonus CD, a version of it with Making -of DVD. The release was followed by a European and North American tour and two live albums.

Tracklist and style

The Whirlwind is a concept album about the turbulence and uncertainty of life and peaceful rest in this metaphorical hurricane. Transatlantic tie in with the retro prog of Bridge Across Forever and refer to examples like Yes and The Beatles, the style of Neal Morse, however, is dominant. The pieces are slowly overall, worn and less playful than on previous albums.

Reception

The press reacted to behave positively to the album. Nik Brückner from the Baby Blue Pages says "it is simply boring ". Jörg Schumann speaks of " well-known Breaks, familiar melodies, familiar bass lines, familiar moods ", but admits it " is fun and keeps well ." Michael Rensen of Rock Hard in December 2009 called it " the most grandiose prog rock album of the year " and the eclipsed magazine The Whirlwind took on its list of the 150 most important prog albums.