The second collective side project from a trio of jazz-rock veterans, The Light Beyond yields nothing revelatory but does serve up a fairly entertaining fusion variety pack. Frank Gambale, guitarist on past Chick Corea Elektric Band projects and a longtime mate of drummer Steve Smith in Vital Information, both rattles and hums on this disc. Most memorable is the complex, whipsawing mix of industrial shards and blues-rock textures he juxtaposes in "Lumpy's Lament," a daunting piece that is counterbalanced by stretches of handsome jazz riffing on "The Throne of Savitar" and the shimmering, desertlike atmospheres he concocts on "Fugitive Aspirations." Stu Hamm, who has logged time with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, reliably sustains the group's challenging metric framework. While sometimes annoyingly light on melody, The Light Within is more structured and graceful than the trio's debut disc (Show Me What You Can Do), and, consistent with a group objective formed for this recording, reminiscent of the eclectic jazz-rock panache demonstrated in years past by Return to Forever. --Terry Wood
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