Ray and Brian have played in bands together since they were in high school, but after years of the music industry kicking them in the butt they decided to join corporate America and get REAL jobs. After being away from music for quite a while, Ray got the hunger back and started writing songs again. As fate would have it Brian and Ray crossed paths and it was only a matter of time before they were writing songs again. The cool thing is they were
writing music to please themselves, which made it VERY enjoyable and easy. Shortly after, they decided to write songs and submit them to other artist in hope that someone might dig one of their songs enough to want to record it. Their first attempt to submit a song was to vocalist Rob Rock whom they bumped into at Prog Power
in Atlanta. Ray simply walked up to Rob and handed him a CD with their song "Without Faith" on it and told Rob if he liked the song it was his with NO strings attached. Rob was very nice and said he would check it out, but after Ray walked away Rob laid it down on a table and walked away. That was the first and last time the band tried to submit a song to anyone. After that humbling experience Ray and Brian decided why not just record a CD on their own and bring in various artist to perform on it. About a month after they started tracking the material in their home studio, Ray bumped into Mike Stone of Queensryche at the Guitar Center.
Mike and Ray have known each other for years and after a little catching up, Mike offered to sing on a few songs for the them. The guys originally entered Mike's recording studio with the intention of recording 4 songs, but due to his busy, busy schedule they were only able to finish two "Eyes Open" and "Without Faith" before Queensryche went back on the road. They were hoping to finish tracking the other two songs when Mike returned, but Queensryche decided to start working on Operation Mindcrime II and it was at that time that they realized that Mike just did not have the time to be bothered by them. Lets be honest, would you rather work on the follow up to one of the greatest Albums ever help out two dudes calling themselves WiszdomStone? LOL
 

Originally Brian and Ray wanted to put out a CD much like Avantasia  that would feature many different vocalist, but after working with Dre' they knew they wanted him to be the voice of WiszdomStone. After a short phone call with Andre it was official. WiszdomStone had a voice that would give it an identity of it's own. Brian and Ray  
continued writing and tracking new material over a period of about two years and finally had enough material for a FULL length CD, but many peepzzz were getting impatient waiting for the FULL length release, so they released a second EP. The second EP "The Battle Rages" consisted of 5 songs. "Unforgiven, Take This Cup, The Battle Rages, Floods And Fires and The Sky Is Falling" The production on the second EP was much better and soon after it's release WiszdomStone started receiveing much more airplay on internet radio and college radio stations. Though they received interest from several record labels the band chose to finish the FULL length CD on their own, so they would not have to compromise one note. The bands first FULL length CD "RISE" was FINALLY finished and was officially released in June of 2009.

Wisconsin's WiszdomStone have finally released their official full-length debut CD comprising classics from last year's 'The Battle Rages' EP, and their 2007 demo. Mainstay musicians and chief songwriters - guitarist and bassist Ray Luokka, and drummer Brian Noonan, have gathered together a whole host of talent to perfect their opus 'Rise'.

They have created a solid CD sure to satisfy fans of traditional 80s meta acts like Crimson Glory, Fates Warning, Fifth Angel and Leatherwolf, as well as inspire fans of the more renown progressive acts like Dream Theater, Evergrey, Symphony X and especially Kamelot. There is a prominent cascading cavalcade of influences permeating, and shining light through the cracks. This allows for a more honest and illuminating perspective.

The silver-tongued soulspeak of Andre' Beaudot creates a vocal style which is very polished and pronounced. He has quite a range and pitch, even reminding me of some of the hard rockin' acts of the past like Lillian Axe, Hurricane or House of Lords. In fact, I would definitely make associations with soaring falcons like Kelly Hansen (Hurricane), James Christian (House of Lords), Rob Rock, Geoff Tate, James LaBrie,and their ilk.
 

The CD begins its keen wisdom tone with the alluring anthem "Rise", which is a strong, vibrant, and uplifting choice to commemorate the noble gathering of supreme talent, mindful melodies, and slight magick. Next up is the incursion of "Floods and fires", an eschatological account of one's own personal journey. Here the individual is strongly encouraged to seek higher ground, and attain an elevated sense of awareness.

The metallic accretion of "Unforgiven" heretofore serves as the band's anthem with its catchy chorus, sung with Marc Swann who contributes his harmony accolades. This guy is rifling through each word, along with Andre', creating and recreating a loudblast ballast of pure energy and emotion. The agonizing supplication of "Take This Cup" recalls Christ's suffering in Gethsemane, and echoes the Lord's Prayer, with a more subjective sense of self reflection. The message gleaned, and intuited, is that pride will pull you under, lest you re-evaluate your ego
based choices in life. It is only a matter of time before destiny catches up to you, and cashes in our your harvested sorrow.

"The Battle Rages" focuses on the so-called spiritual warfare and inner struggle for sanity. The truth be told, "You literally must be out of your mind, to find peace." Letting go of all the thought chatter creates inner peace and tranquility. As the ol' adage goes, "You must go within, or go without." Guest musician Brent Taritas performs the glistening guitar solo. He also adds lead work on "Without Faith", which would be Wiszdom Stone's other soul theme. Faith, Hope, and Love are what allows for us to witness the divine in one another. Faith comes from the Greek term pistis meaning "firm persuasion" or "a conviction based upon hearing". This is the etymology for the philosophical term epistemology.

According to James Van Praagh's 'Unfinished Business'(his latest spiritual account), dealing with those who have gone before us, "Faith is something you believe with your total being. It is a sense of knowing and really giving yourself over to something... pure trust."

"The Sky Is Falling" begins with a Megadeth bass sound, and becomes the most transcendental sojourn, echoing pure Crimson Glory epic era motifs, with just a hint of ASKA, attending to her melodic meanderings. Don Wolfe's bass tactics, and key arrangements really contribute a quality mix all throughout the CD. The mindcrime motif of "The Mourning Loss" is driven by its dualistic nature, and conceptual essence. It is quite obvious that Wiszdom Stone attend to the early years of Queensryche. They even make a direct reference in the lyrics, "...
We got so much to do...".

The character Desire is played by David Scott McBee. Here he tempts The Lost Dreamer, played by Andre'. Fans of Virgin Steele, Ayreon, Epica, Avantasia, and Kamelot will appreciate this marriage of heaven and hell. The female voice of Guidance is sung by the siren Dawn Mahuta. Casey Grillo plays drums.

The older cut "Eyes Open" is the weakest link in a strong chain of events. This song showcases Mike Stone shredding on lead guitar. Sadly, this self-referential piece of primal persuasion is just not as punchy as the rest of the hits. The provocative "U should Not Fear" ends the CD with a balanced endeavour. The incredible guitar work  of Mike Henzig, and his awesome solos lift you up, and carry you to  the end of your majestic dream. These scenes of a memorable experience leave the listener feeling excited and ready, and free of false evidence appearing real.

I highly recommend this CD. In my opinion, it is better than the latest Queensryche ('American soldier'), the lastest Evergrey ('Torn'), or anything Kamelot has done in over 10 years (though I'm sure many of my colleagues will disagree). Rise to the opportunity to get this, now!