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The Cancer Conspiracy is from a rather unlikely place, Burlington, VT. Let’s be honest, Burlington has a lot going on for itself… for example, it’s “the smallest U.S. city that is the largest city in its state” and it is the place to get your teddy bears. But it’s not exactly where I’d expect to find a progressive rock band of this caliber. Never heard of the phrase “the cancer conspiracy”? It’s actually a rather fitting name.
… [The album] revolved around the concept of the corporate music industry’s control of the masses; that people are sheep to what music corporations and radio stations tell them to listen to, unaware of the real music that exists out there. As in the medical world, a “cancer conspiracy” that hides the cure for cancer for the purpose of making money from the sick. The album booklet contained a letter from a doctor/kook by the name of Dr. Travis John, who shared similar views and who warned the band of the trouble they were getting themselves into.
- The Cancer Conspiracy (band), Wikipedia
King Crimson practically invented progressive rock, and they have influenced countless numbers of bands ranging from Tool to Yes. But I can’t say I’ve come across a band that immediately reminded me of King Crimson, until now. While I was waiting impatiently for Irepress’s latest album to drop on iTunes, I decided to peruse their “Listener’s also bought” section. I didn’t actually get to peruse at all because as luck would have it, the very first album I checked out struck me immediately.
I’d also compare this band to Irepress, God is an Astronaut, and Russian Circles. The Cancer Conspiracy is instrumental and sports a strong rhythm section, but what separates them from these three bands is a more direct tie to classic rock. Their music isn’t drowned in a sea synth loops and pads. Not that there’s never any synths used, but it’s not a crutch to fill in the gaps in the EQ spectrum. Even the guitar distortion effects have that classic 70’s rock crunch to them.
Their latest release before breaking up, Omega (2008), was actually completed in 2003 but was not released until last year because of legal disputes. So don’t let the release date fool you. Anyways, the album predominately focuses around the guitar/bass/drum trio, but it does incorporate mild synth effects reminiscent of ’70’s prog rock. The opening track actually has a saxophone in it which creates a great vibe, and I really wish they had used more of it in this album. All in all, this is a very solid album start to finish. By the way, even the track titles reminded me of King Crimson. The track listing is simply a list of Roman numerals, which is similar to King Crimson’s ProjeKcts.
The Audio Medium (2002) is more diversified sonically and stylistically than Omega. It’s heavier moments are heavier and its softer moments are softer. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but Omega seemed more of a concept album bringing more of their classic rock roots to the forefront. Given some more time, I think I might like The Audio Medium better than Omega because of its diversity, but the recording quality was certainly better on Omega and I think Omega is actually a better introduction to the band if you’re a first time listener. Their albums are relatively short, so they’re also relatively cheap. But if I haven’t convinced you, be sure to check out Last.fm or Myspace for some full length samples.
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