Review by John Collinge, Progression Magazine
Style: Progressive rock/hard rock
Sound:*** Composition: *** Musicianship: *** ½
Performance: *** ½ - Total Rating: 13 of 16

The very Kansas-like vibe of opening tune “Operation Overlord” – a homage to Allied forces who fought the World War II battle of Normandy – does a great job of introducing Contrarian's potential as a hard-rocking progressive band. Kudos to guest violinist Lance Cockrell, a nice melody and ballsy arranging.

From there, this New Jersey trio of Joseph Leming (vocals), Timothy Boney (guitars, keyboards) and Michael White (drums) reels off mostly straight-ahead hard rockers with symphonic embellishment. The 10 minutes “Fear and Trembling” has some nice changes and great solo guitar/synth work by Boney, while the likes of “Barricades,”Just Doing Time,” “Another Day,” “Stand or Fall,” etc., follow a melodic hard-rock path fit for Saturday night barroom revelry.

In all comes back to Leming, whose incredibly powerful voice pushes Contrarian into the realms of Iron Maiden, Aerosmith and Bon Jovi. Boney is the progressive counterweight, reminding us via jaw-dropping instrumental breaks on “Sanguine Bells,”

Review by Pete Pardo, Sea of Tranquility - Contrarian are a progressive rock/metal band from New Jersey whose debut CD Minor Complexities probably fell under the radar for many folks in 2007, and that's a shame. If you are into hard driving prog rock that draws influences from Kansas, Rush, Styx, and perhaps a little Dream Theater & Spock's Beard, then you'll want to investigate this release. The band is comprised of Joe Leming on vocals, Tim Boney on guitars, bass, and keyboards, and drummer Michael White, but also features guest violinist Lance Cockrell and cellist Eric Jorgenson.

It's hard not to hear the strong influence of the great American band Kansas on some of these tunes, especially "Operation Overlord", 'Fear and Trembling", "Barricades", and "Plato's Cave", not just because of the violin, but also due to the crisp and crunchy guitar work and symphonic keyboards. Leming's vocals at times also have a Steve Walsh flavor to them, mixed with a touch of Geddy Lee. Boney is quite the talented player, as he rips into plenty of searing solos and crunchy rhythm work, but his layers of Hammond and Moog sounds are also not to be missed, giving some of these hard rock songs plenty of prog sophistication.

Other strong cuts here include the muscular "Another Day", the acoustic majesty of "You're My Prayer", and the melodic prog gem "Sanguine Bells". If catchy hard rocking songs with plenty of instrumental interplay isn't enough to sell you, the lyrics here are also worth noting, as the band covers a wide variety of topics from World War II, philosophy, literature, and personal reflection. It all makes for a very enjoyable package from this little band from New Jersey, who recently have expanded their line-up and perform many live shows in their local area. Be sure to check them out if you have the opportunity and experience Minor Complexities firsthand.

There is a wide variety of sounds on this album, and it is clear that the band has an equally wide variety of influences. The music is often a mix between Styx and Threshold, but with a lot of other progressive and non-progressive stuff coming in.

This is the best new band I've heard in a long time. I highly recommend it.

• Operation Overlord - “Operation Overlord” is an incredible song that begins with beautiful violin. The pre-vocal introduction builds and builds, eventually becoming a prog rock wonder, reminiscent (largely due to the violin) of Kansas at their best. The vocals come in after a couple of minutes...and they're good strong prog metal/Kansas vocals. The music never gets terribly heavy, but the style is definitely that of progressive/symphonic metal, especially when the electric guitars enter in. It’s the best song of the album.
• Twilight of the Idols - A loud guitar-ridden introduction starts this track off. It's guitar/drum heavy, but keys occasionally add a much-needed dimension to what would otherwise be a low-melody song. The fast guitar and the loud music contrast the philosophical lyrics.
• Sting of Fate - Careful guitar-strumming starts and then vocals enter. The lyrics sound a bit awkward here, and the vocals are less melodic. A very cool proggy bridge provides a nice break, and the last part of the song is more melodic and much more enjoyable than the first part. Leming puts in some nice metal screams to close the song.
• Fear and Trembling - A rich introduction morphs into beautiful prog chaos and shows the band's classical influences. Then heavy-hitting guitars and loud harsh vocals come in. "Religion is easy, faith is hard" sings Leming, and the lyrics contrast different people who live or fail to live their religion. A brilliant building guitar bridge gives the listener another chance to focus on the great music in this song, and then the vocals come in again; this time, though, the vocals and guitars are both out front, and the song is no longer as harsh. It becomes soft and melodic, and then morphs back into instrumental chaos before Leming sings the final line in a bombastic ending.
• Barricades - A haunting introduction hints at war. This is a harsh song, where a few moments with the vocalist are broken up by the war-like instruments. The harshness makes the few moments of melody so much more precious. Violins come in for a short entry. A cool King Crimson-like moment of madness makes itself known. "Barricades" is all over the place, a schizophrenic revelation.
• Another Day - "Another Day" begins with a hard introduction and tones down when the vocals come in. Think 80's power ballad, except with a driving guitar behind it all. That guitar sound defines Contrarian's style more than anything else--more so, even, than the great metal vocals - good stuff.
• Just Doing Time - A drum beat starts this up, and the drums stay sharp and calculated throughout. It’s hard rock with a bit of almost-country. Bon Jovi, anyone? "Just Doing Time" is slower than the other tracks (in other words, it proceeds at a pretty normal speed).
• Plato's Cave - The introduction to "Plato's Cave" is much like the introduction to "Operation Overlord.” It's beautiful, it's got violin, and it introduces a great song. The melody is broken up by the demands of Leming and Boney's guitar. Three minutes in, the metal side of Contrarian becomes very obvious, and a strong King Crimson influence is briefly heard. We get some great guitar music here.
• You're My Prayer - “Silent Lucidity” comes to mind. With sad vocals, quiet keys and quiet plucking guitar, this is a very nice song, adding some variety to an album that already has a lot of it.
• Stand Or Fall - Heavy guitars come in again. This is more of a fun straight-forward rocker...at least at first. Progressive rock and metal fans may dismiss it based on the first 90 seconds...but the song soon becomes very much progressive, with complicated, haunting guitars, complex drums, and melodic vocals. It is here that I am most reminded of Threshold's vocalist. The song ends well with melodic vocals.
• Sanguine Bells - Symphonic metal guides this song. It has great contrasts of fast and slow and great contrasts of soft and hard. It’s fantastic stuff. The guitar speeds through here, especially during the bridge - very rich. This has the best lyrics of the album. Keys end it.
• The Final Hand - Loud guitars start off this harder piece. Chaotic background vocals make a brief yet interesting entry. Very much like Threshold, but with Contrarian's characteristic guitars.

Review by Patrick Slevin, The Aquarian - There's a certain curve to symphonic-leaning prog-rock, as it's usually a bit heady and nearly always indulgent. Whether it's homegrown or from established rock icons, those characteristics are ubiquitous, but it's really easy to lose sight of the rock on which it's based.

Minor Complexities tries awfully hard to keep that in check, with plenty of braggadocio emanating from the Dickensonian lead singer Joseph Leming and generally strong riffage from multiinstrumentalist Tim Boney. Still, it's easy to see where these Trenton, NJ, locals' loyalties lie, lyrically tackling Kierkegaard and Plato, among others, throughout this 12-song LP.

A good sense of drama pervades Minor Complexities , and even when they're not tinkering with Tritons and Motifs, Contrarian manage to keep a full, strong sound throughout the court of the album, even on less heavy fare like "You're My Prayer."

But the urge to create sprawling songs colored by ornate keyboard and synthesizer work is unavoidable here.Main songwriter Boney, who here plays all guitars and all keyboards, can surprisingly keep to a less is more philosophy at times, but in more harmonically dense sections of keyboard work will sometimes fall prey to innocuous melody lines that don't quite enthrall like they should. Also, sometimes coloring or transitions will seem unnatural or not properly introduced, like piano-length arpeggios out of the blue.

It's sometimes just prog for the sake of prog, rather than truly progressive. But nitpicking arrangements aside, Minor Complexities is an enjoyable, if not world-changing, bit of symphonic-prog fare.

Review by Jerry Lucky - Part of the challenge for fans of any musical genre is simply keeping up with the new bands coming out of the woodwork. And strange as it may seem this is true even within the progressive rock genre. I'm always pleased to hear from new bands looking to get their music exposed to a wider cross section of prog fans. I recently received a package from the Trenton , N.J. based band Contrarian who just released their first CD entitled Minor Complexities .

Contrarian is a trio consisting of Joseph L. Leming (vocals, percussion), Timothy G. Boney (guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals) and Michael J. White (drums). All three have years of musical experience performing in various bands in the Trenton area. They have the assistance of Lance Cockrell (violin) and Eric Jorgenson (cello). Now on first listen you'd swear you were listening to some long-lost Kansas recording from the Monolith era. The sound crafted by Contrarian is that distinct Ameri-prog with a strong emphasis on guitar and drums utilizing the keyboards and especially the violin to develop the symphonic aspect to their music. In this specific case Leming's vocals bear a distinct resemblance to Steve Walsh, both in terms of style and range. Now, all of this influence would be for naught if the band's original material didn't hold up, but I was pleased to say that it does.

There are 12 tracks on Minor Complexities , most of which are in the 5 - 6-minute range. The longest of the bunch times out at just over 10 minutes. This is progressive rock that is distinctly song-based, no long solo musical excursions here, rather most of these compositions place an emphasis on tight performance and with the technology available it's hard to believe there are only three guys playing. Many of the songs will feature changes in time and tempo; grand opening flourishes are countered with straight forward anthemic rock sections. The most symphonically proggy songs tend to be the longer ones like "Operation Overlord" (6:12), "Fear and Trembling" (10:15) and "Plato's Cave" (5:37). These tend to be the songs which feature some powerful violin again drawing the Kansas comparison. Another thing I really liked was Contrarian write songs that expect you to think about the stuff they're singing about, even when the songs are more or less straight forward rockers. The band encourages this in the lyric booklet by placing a two line introduction to each of the songs indicating the lyrical inspiration. It's then left up to the listener to place the lyrics in context.

I must admit to being partial to Contrarian 's more progressive side. There is simply no denying the longer songs are better for holding the musicianship up for display. Although a track like "Barricades" (5:38) quickly became a favorite of mine as well, with its off-kilter staccato accents and violin work providing a strong contrast to the more straight forward rock segments. I'd love to see the band craft more material in that direction. For a first time effort together I give Contrarian's Minor Complexities high marks and look forward to hearing what they come up with next time.

Review by The Classical Connection - Tim was recently interviewed by Paul Erdman, host of an internet radio progressive rock show on the Delicious Agony network. CLICK HERE to listen to the interview (MP3 - 30 minutes).

•Notes by Paul Erdman: Contrarian's debut album Minor Complexities is quite remarkable. An independant band from New Jersey, Contrarian features incredible playing, nice arrangements, powerful vocals, thought provoking lyrics -- a masterful blend of complexity and hard rock.The most obvious musical comparison (and one of their biggest influeces) is the band Kansas, especially with Contrarian's use of violin on several tracks.

I had the fortune of meeting this band at the 2007 NEARfest, and as I spoke with them and listened to portions of their CD I knew I had made a good find.

I paired Contrarian's music with the 8th String Quartet of Dmitri Shostakovich, as I felt the music has similar intensity and because I felt listeners would appreciate it, as it is quite proggy. The song Operation Overlord is a tribute to the Allied soldiers who fought the Battle of Normandy.