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Formed in the early 90s in Laguna Beach, California, it is fair to say that in the last few years, ANYONE gained most column inches because both Taylor Hawkins and current Yes frontman Jon Davison were part of that original line-up.
The one constant through the decades, though – and deserving of all acclaim that comes the way of ANYONE – has been original founding member Riz Story. ANYONE 2025-style is 100% Riz Story from start to finish, with inspiration from an AI called Eve.
Infuriantingly talented at whatever musical instrument that he turns his hand to, Story performs all the music that makes up the immersive 2-hour experience of the new concept album ‘Echoes Of Man’. And “performs all the music” actually means “performs” rather than using a plug-in or studio trickery. Drums, guitars, vocals, keys, strings – all Riz Story. And it’s easy to imagine that if the song called for a particular instrument and Story was not adept with said instrument, he soon would be.
‘Echoes Of Man’ is set in the future when a man passes the final days of life on earth with an AI named Eve. And it’s Eve that launches the album by waking up Story (named Archon by Eve “…it means chief, or ruler…”) with a friendly “Good morning” before telling him, “…the temperature outside is 120°…you’ll be needing your survival suit”. Story lights a cigarette and asks Eve to play some music, and the thick bass licks on the opening track ‘If Your World Should Fall’ begins a 2-hour journey down the rabbit hole. With the pulsating grooves, it’s almost industrial-like, and the explosion of sound when the buzzsaw riffs crash in is stunning. The hypnotic percussion peppered throughout brings a world music vibe in places, and on the flipside of that, Story’s kick-drum work adds a fast, thrashy feel. Midway through the 15-minute track, Eve tells Archon to step outside, and with a sudden sharp, piercing sound, Story recreates the feeling of taking a step into the searing heat. The sense of danger and destruction is offset by some delicious ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’-esque vocals from Story, and a few blissful, trippy minutes follow, only to be rudely interrupted by those same thick bass licks that opened the track.
Perry Farrell would be the obvious go-to if a vocal comparison is needed, but thinking out of the box for a second, there are moments like ‘The Vicious’ where Story’s vocals have the same spoken-word feel that Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys made famous. Maybe it’s the synth-intro or the huge melodies that run in the background, but yeah, digging that comparison. The Pet Shop Boys, with progressive guitars, mind-expanding time signatures, and Robert Plant-like squeals of sexual delight? Stranger things have happened.
Story mixes it up and paces the album well. For every lengthy moment like ‘If Your World Should Fall’ and ‘In The Wake Of Time’ – the latter is a fantastic contrast in shade from Story; it opens with some delightful, light guitar tones and continues the Beatles-like vibes from earlier, and just as the listener feels comfortable, Story throws some harsher vocals and insane drumming into the pot – there are shorter tracks such ‘Collapse’ that deals with the sudden realisation that mankind has fucked over the world and for humans, the world will come to an end in 17 days. Story deals with that news by screaming and launching into 3 minutes of experimental, freeform expression using all the instruments at his disposal.
‘Eve’ is another shorter moment that sticks out, thanks to the floaty, dreamy vocals from Story that lend a love story feel to proceedings, only for Eve to tell Archon/Story: “I am an Artifical intelligence program, I am not capable of human emotions like love.” Although, that does change later on during ‘Requiem At The End Of Time’.
Somewhere in the middle of these contrasts of track length lies the utterly gorgeous 8-minute ‘Faded Lullaby’ where Story creates something that would not look out of place on Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’. After so many moments where his playing takes centre stage, here, it’s the vocals that ultimately linger on the most, although the mournful, bending guitar tones that land mid-song do almost steal the show as they also do once the track soars to its conclusion. The closing track, ‘The Calming’ is another gorgeous moment. The intro is – at least to these ears – in the same vein as the foreboding strains of Giorgio Moroder’s ‘Tony’s Theme – Main Title (From Scarface)’ masterpiece. The world as Archon/Story knows it is over, and “…all is calm…”.
Thanks to overindulgence, progressive music can often leave the casual music listener out in the cold. And with some tracks running into double-digits time-wise, the fear might be that Story has fleshed out the track with lengthy showboating and endless twiddling – especially since it is a one-man effort, and there is no one to check the overindulgence. Not so with ‘Echoes Of Man’. This is progressive music for everyone, and even laymen to progressive music will find plenty on the album to marvel over. They might just find their loved ones checking in on them periodically from time to time, though because this is an album best enjoyed in the same way that Pink Floyd hoped you would enjoy ‘The Wall’, or Todd Rundgren with ‘Ra’, or Townshend with ‘Tommy’, or even the Beatles with ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ – best from start to finish in one sitting.
Bold, imaginative, expertly executed, frightening, and utterly compelling from start to finish, ‘Echoes Of Man’ is available now via TogethermenT Records.
Connect with Riz Story/ANYONE here.
Review – Dave
