This is a re-release of The Gourishankar´s debut album from 2003. Close Grip has been remastered and an extra song has been added. I´ve listened very little to 2nd Hands which is their second and very praised album, but Close Grip sounds really good. The music is very eclectic even though I was wondering at first why The Gourishankar was in that catagory. I thought this sounded like progressive metal the first time I listened to the album, but after a couple of spins I have a different view on Close Grip. There is definitely a progressive metal edge to their music and in that respect The Gourishankar reminds me of another eclectic prog rock band and that´s the swedish band A.C.T. I would like to mention two albums that I think The Gourishankar are very influenced by here. Dream Theater´s Images and Words and Hold Your Fire by Rush. The influence from Rush is mostly due to Vlad MJ Whiner´s voice and the vocal melodies while there are many hints to the early melodic Dream Theater. It´s not easy to describe the style played on Close Grip though because even though I feel The Gourishankar are heavily influenced by both Dream Theater and Rush there are also other styles involved. What about a wailing almost avant garde Sax Solo in Insomnia or a the little jazz section in Wind of night. This is truly and eclectic prog rock album. I think there is coherence though and the experiments never get out of hand.