World Trade is a progressive rock outfit consisting of seasoned players and veterans, namely Billy Sherwood, Guy Allison, Bruce Gowdy, and Mark T. Williams, and "Unify" is the band’s third album. Truth be told, I was quite excited about listening to this 10-track effort of theirs in that I respect and admire Billy Sherwood and the others, but unfortunately this brand new opus of theirs leaves me feeling unimpressed and even downright bored at times. 

These guys can handle their instruments, of that there can be no doubt, but the song material is lacking in excitement and passion. At times it sounds as if World Trade are merely going through the motions and not really putting any effort or energy into the songs. Even worse is the fact that Sherwood’s vocals sound uninspired and devoid of emotion. Quite a few of the melodies come off sounding somewhat insipid as well. A couple of decent tunes do crop up, more specifically "On Target On Time" and "Gone All the Way", but that is about it, really. The other cuts lack drama and there is nothing emotionally engaging or intense about them. 

There is nothing wrong with the production or musicianships here; it is the lack of depth and substance in relation to the actual compositions that is the problem. Sure, there are some cleverly written parts and whatnot, but the songs and the album as a whole never really take off, which is a damn shame.

"Unify" is a bland affair. Very little stands out and there are way better alternatives out there if you are on the lookout for some new prog rock to immerse yourself in.

 

http://www.frontiers.it/album/5393