Dot Connector - Nuclear Priest

​Dot Connector

Nuclear Priest
self-released; 2018

​3.5 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Yevgeny Baburin, Scott Bevan and Steve Fahlsing are Dot Connector. The band from Indianapolis, Indiana recorded Nuclear Priest. According to the band Nuclear Priest is a concept album based on on various Isaac Asimov novels. The intro and first two songs pertain to characters and elements from the Foundation series. The next one is based on The Gods Themselves and finally a song about End of Eternity.

​There are solid ideas throughout and I wasn’t able to quite tell how serious the band was taking themselves. Some of it sounded similar to something from Spinal Tap which I’m not knocking at all but has a tongue-in-cheek kind of feel to it. I guess it doesn't matter that much but I felt like they were riding a fine line throughout the album.

The band opens with “Nuclear Sermon” which all in all is a solid prog rock song. I liked what was happening instrumentally. The band has some technical chops. That being said the song really felt like an intro for the title track.

The title track has its moments as well but unfortunately I couldn't make out the lyrics because the compression on the thin vocals wasn't well implemented along with a couple of issues regarding the recording. I again thought the instrumental aspects were well executed and did appreciate the vocal melodies.

“The Mule” showcases their technical even more with the band really digging into the prog rock sound. “Dua and Selene” and “Galaxy No Vacancy” have their moments as well. In fact I thought the structure of the songs was well conceived. It was a very cohesive batch of songs that undeniably created a foundation for the band.

As an engineer myself the best advice I can give the band is to work with an engineer/producer for their next recording. The songs had my attention but the recording quality doesn't come close to what even a small, mid-grade studio would deliver. I really would love to hear the songs’ potential come to life at some point.

This is simply a case where you have a good batch of musicians who need to find the right studio/engineer/recording. I’ve seen it in this type of situation and the musicians are always excited when they meet the right person for the job.

Overall, this is a band to keep your ears on. The talent is there and I predict good things. I hope to hear more soon.

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