HeKz have been making a name for themselves for a while now, well 2005, so a bloody long while.
The Bedford band really hit their stride with 2018's Invicta, consolidating founding member Matt Young's writing into the hybrid style of progressive metal meets NWOBHM meets AOR, where experimentation is welcome and concepts are essential.
Young's writing is cinematic, telling complex stories through even more complex music, Matt anchoring them with his basswork, vocals and keys/orchestrations, amongst a number of other instruments. Never a band afraid of taking risks or pushing the envelope their fifth album, Qisma, is their most sprawling, denselyy conceptual and musically imaginative to date.
The title comes from the Arabic word for fate, destiny or divine, and its the name for a double disc concept record which deals with our lead character trying exploring self-discovery inside of dystopian technopolis where conformity if mandatory, part Orwell's 1984, part Cameron's Avatar, part Gilliam's Brazil.
It's an album about the search for creativity, how we can forge our own destiny, performed with the highest level of creativity it's human architect's can muster as they embrace their own destiny as the UKs premier prog metal act, a fact reflected, by the guests they've managed to entice to join HeKz.
Most importantly John Mitchell (Frost*/Asia/Lonely Robot/Arena) who joins the production team, mixing, mastering and adds vocals to The Overlord as Adam Holzman (Steven Wilson, Trifecta, Jane Getter) brings keyboards to Virtual Utopia. Then Mark Bogert (Knight Area, Magoria) adds guitar to The Great Out There and Moyano el Buffalo (King Lizard, Diamond Black) does percussion on The Road Home.
However it's the band themselves who shine well on this album, moving between all the styles they visit on this mammoth record. Jerry Sadowski's drumming sits behind the songs with style and skill, through the shifts into progressive metal, AOR, classic metal and everything else here. Lucia La Rezza's strings are beautiful throughout the violin used as a lead instrument, adding melodies, solos and more while she also provides cello, double bass and fleshes out the orchestrations.
On co-leads on every song is the man they call 'The Maestro' Tolis Zavaliaris, his guitar playing drawn from Gilmour, Fripp, Lifeson and Petrucci, it's fluid, expressive and at times crushingly heavy, locked in with Matt's bass or gliding on top of it with virtuosity. Matt himself shows all manner of skill with multiple instruments on the album but also his great voice, which has a definition about it that is inspired by others but solely his own.
You can boil it down to brass tacks and state that Qisma is a darker, more prophetic and cinematic version of Styx's Kilroy Was Here, but HeKz are the band Steve Harris wants to be in, Symphony X would be if they stuck to just epics and Kansas if they went heavy metal. Nothing short of a masterpiece the sky is the limit for HeKz. 10/10
Hackett & Rothery - The Roaring Waves (InsideOut Music)
Two Steve's, Two Guitars, Progressive Rock Nirvana as Mr Hackett (Genesis/Solo) and Mr Rothery (Marillion) release their long awaited collaboration album.
Something of legend often spoken about in hushed tones, The Roaring Waves has been nearly a decade in the making, two incredibly busy musicians who rightly stand as cornerstones for their genre, recording sporadically between tours and album cycles, at home studios mainly the duo shaped extended jam sessions into these seven instrumental tracks.
Their guitar prowess flows freely, intertwining and conjuring up the elemental power of the sea which is the creative inspiration behind the record, joined by collaborators Ricardo Rommano (co-writer/mixer/keys/bass) and Leon Parr (drums), these songs are a fusion of both players creative muscles, not really what they would normally write or perform but with the blueprints of both of them in each moment.
The classical guitars on Red Dragon and more so on The Roaring Waves itself, give way to the introspective Floydisms and electronic pulsations of 21st Century Marilion, as Pacific Coast Highway, rolls to the sounds of blues harmonica and the Californian beach culture. The entire record made to sound more cinematic with the orchestrations and strings that fill out the gaps between the guitars.
It makes for an immersive listening experience where K-129 pulsates to the likes of Steven Wilson, while The Black Sea is like the theme from a 60's spy film in all the best ways. An album that's been nearly a decade in the making, we have a record where two maestros combine for something that's anchored by their history but set sail for new shores. 8/10
The Tangent - Was (White Knight Records)
With a total running time of over 100 minutes you have to invest in the new album from progressive rock veterans The Tangent.
It's a rumination on nostalgia.. Whether it's the musical fashions, the bloody battlefields or indeed the media driven nostalgia for the 'glory days' of the Second World War. Disc 1 of this record is a three track exploration of the past, through music, television, current events and how we often like back with rose tinted spectacles rather than recall what actually happened, glossing over the band with the good.
Drawn from Andy Tillison's youth in the late 1960's and 1970's the first part of this record runs through many of the the musical styles from that era, focussing on prog rock mainly, there's influence of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and others, as hard rock, psych, jazz, blues, soul and pop, all play their part as well, as the memories of Woodstock bleed into Vietnam, through a soundtrack of some legendary music.
Tilson's vocal mirroring Roger Waters' on The Final Cut and his solo records, adopting that almost 'talk singing' style which actually suits this recording as it feels like it could be Roger Waters conceptual solo record. Especially when the sax of Theo Travis blasts in the middle part of track one, the keys/organs of Tilson the core of The Tangent as it has been since the outset but as with any prog rock maestro he has a supremely talented band making up The Tangent.
Theo Travis as I've said adds the sax, flutes and wind instruments that are so much a part of that glorious decade, as Rob Groucutt adding more keys to Tilison's on the funk/disco/jazz of Follow The River, track 2 on disc 1 where they let loose a little. John Jowitt's bass funkier than anything, Steve Roberts' drumming hitting every mark no matter the stylistic changes letting Luke Machin adds his virtuoso guitar playing across the whole album.
This first part of the record actually made me quite emotional, as my father is the same age as Andy Tilson and has many of the same music tastes, many of which have been passed down to me. So it was like listening to him regale me with tales of his youth, and I'll be honest it did make me well up, as this kind of music is engrained in my psyche as much as heavy rock such as Zeppelin, Purple and Sabbath is from my mum.
The second disc is almost totally instrumental, based around throwing as much musical history together in one place as possible, it's inspired by Keith Emerson's Five Bridges Suite but with an additional 50 years of musical evolution to add to this idea with classical and jazz right the way through to electronic music and DJ culture
Was is an ambitious record from The Tangent, Disc 1 is perhaps the better of the two for what I enjoy but the whole bundle works a brilliant way for this talented band to show their tremendous musicality. 9/10
Pattern Seeking Animals - Grimalkin (GEP Records)
Since their formation in 2019, Pattern-Seeking Animals have released five albums! Exuding the benefits of being a mainly studio project in the 21st Century, it means that they can record without having to be anywhere near each other, useful when two of your number are also part of Spock's Beard which just takes up their time with touring.
In fact this 'supergroup' all have a connection with Spock's Beard as current and former members/collaborators, which means that like with their previous five records their is a close connection musically to The Beard.
That continues on their sixth album Grimalkin, but still allows them to go their own way drawing from their own influences and their other projects for Pattern-Seeking Animals, the string sections of Jade Sky, haunting piano balladry on Things I Don't Do or brass parps on the nostalgic feel of Traveler On The Wrong Road Home.
There's always been a more introspective side it PSA, driven by the emotive and unique vocals of Ted Leonard, while many will know him as the current vocalist of SB, which is a damn good company to be in, I know him from Enchant and PSA is a lot closer to that in terms of what he does.
Leonard also provides the guitar to the record but more often than not the 'lead' instruments here are the bass of Dave Metros, and the keys and more of John Boegehold and as witnessed by A Flower Yet To Grow, behind everything Jimmy Keegan's drums keep the pace shifting on the dramatic Break Away.
Innovative, interesting and always adding something new, Pattern-Seeking Animals continue to define themselves as a band with a very important past life but in constant forward march towards their own expression. 7/10
On co-leads on every song is the man they call 'The Maestro' Tolis Zavaliaris, his guitar playing drawn from Gilmour, Fripp, Lifeson and Petrucci, it's fluid, expressive and at times crushingly heavy, locked in with Matt's bass or gliding on top of it with virtuosity. Matt himself shows all manner of skill with multiple instruments on the album but also his great voice, which has a definition about it that is inspired by others but solely his own.
You can boil it down to brass tacks and state that Qisma is a darker, more prophetic and cinematic version of Styx's Kilroy Was Here, but HeKz are the band Steve Harris wants to be in, Symphony X would be if they stuck to just epics and Kansas if they went heavy metal. Nothing short of a masterpiece the sky is the limit for HeKz. 10/10
Hackett & Rothery - The Roaring Waves (InsideOut Music)
Two Steve's, Two Guitars, Progressive Rock Nirvana as Mr Hackett (Genesis/Solo) and Mr Rothery (Marillion) release their long awaited collaboration album.
Something of legend often spoken about in hushed tones, The Roaring Waves has been nearly a decade in the making, two incredibly busy musicians who rightly stand as cornerstones for their genre, recording sporadically between tours and album cycles, at home studios mainly the duo shaped extended jam sessions into these seven instrumental tracks.
Their guitar prowess flows freely, intertwining and conjuring up the elemental power of the sea which is the creative inspiration behind the record, joined by collaborators Ricardo Rommano (co-writer/mixer/keys/bass) and Leon Parr (drums), these songs are a fusion of both players creative muscles, not really what they would normally write or perform but with the blueprints of both of them in each moment.
The classical guitars on Red Dragon and more so on The Roaring Waves itself, give way to the introspective Floydisms and electronic pulsations of 21st Century Marilion, as Pacific Coast Highway, rolls to the sounds of blues harmonica and the Californian beach culture. The entire record made to sound more cinematic with the orchestrations and strings that fill out the gaps between the guitars.
It makes for an immersive listening experience where K-129 pulsates to the likes of Steven Wilson, while The Black Sea is like the theme from a 60's spy film in all the best ways. An album that's been nearly a decade in the making, we have a record where two maestros combine for something that's anchored by their history but set sail for new shores. 8/10
The Tangent - Was (White Knight Records)
With a total running time of over 100 minutes you have to invest in the new album from progressive rock veterans The Tangent.
It's a rumination on nostalgia.. Whether it's the musical fashions, the bloody battlefields or indeed the media driven nostalgia for the 'glory days' of the Second World War. Disc 1 of this record is a three track exploration of the past, through music, television, current events and how we often like back with rose tinted spectacles rather than recall what actually happened, glossing over the band with the good.
Drawn from Andy Tillison's youth in the late 1960's and 1970's the first part of this record runs through many of the the musical styles from that era, focussing on prog rock mainly, there's influence of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and others, as hard rock, psych, jazz, blues, soul and pop, all play their part as well, as the memories of Woodstock bleed into Vietnam, through a soundtrack of some legendary music.
Tilson's vocal mirroring Roger Waters' on The Final Cut and his solo records, adopting that almost 'talk singing' style which actually suits this recording as it feels like it could be Roger Waters conceptual solo record. Especially when the sax of Theo Travis blasts in the middle part of track one, the keys/organs of Tilson the core of The Tangent as it has been since the outset but as with any prog rock maestro he has a supremely talented band making up The Tangent.
Theo Travis as I've said adds the sax, flutes and wind instruments that are so much a part of that glorious decade, as Rob Groucutt adding more keys to Tilison's on the funk/disco/jazz of Follow The River, track 2 on disc 1 where they let loose a little. John Jowitt's bass funkier than anything, Steve Roberts' drumming hitting every mark no matter the stylistic changes letting Luke Machin adds his virtuoso guitar playing across the whole album.
This first part of the record actually made me quite emotional, as my father is the same age as Andy Tilson and has many of the same music tastes, many of which have been passed down to me. So it was like listening to him regale me with tales of his youth, and I'll be honest it did make me well up, as this kind of music is engrained in my psyche as much as heavy rock such as Zeppelin, Purple and Sabbath is from my mum.
The second disc is almost totally instrumental, based around throwing as much musical history together in one place as possible, it's inspired by Keith Emerson's Five Bridges Suite but with an additional 50 years of musical evolution to add to this idea with classical and jazz right the way through to electronic music and DJ culture
Was is an ambitious record from The Tangent, Disc 1 is perhaps the better of the two for what I enjoy but the whole bundle works a brilliant way for this talented band to show their tremendous musicality. 9/10
Pattern Seeking Animals - Grimalkin (GEP Records)
Since their formation in 2019, Pattern-Seeking Animals have released five albums! Exuding the benefits of being a mainly studio project in the 21st Century, it means that they can record without having to be anywhere near each other, useful when two of your number are also part of Spock's Beard which just takes up their time with touring.
In fact this 'supergroup' all have a connection with Spock's Beard as current and former members/collaborators, which means that like with their previous five records their is a close connection musically to The Beard.
That continues on their sixth album Grimalkin, but still allows them to go their own way drawing from their own influences and their other projects for Pattern-Seeking Animals, the string sections of Jade Sky, haunting piano balladry on Things I Don't Do or brass parps on the nostalgic feel of Traveler On The Wrong Road Home.
There's always been a more introspective side it PSA, driven by the emotive and unique vocals of Ted Leonard, while many will know him as the current vocalist of SB, which is a damn good company to be in, I know him from Enchant and PSA is a lot closer to that in terms of what he does.
Leonard also provides the guitar to the record but more often than not the 'lead' instruments here are the bass of Dave Metros, and the keys and more of John Boegehold and as witnessed by A Flower Yet To Grow, behind everything Jimmy Keegan's drums keep the pace shifting on the dramatic Break Away.
Innovative, interesting and always adding something new, Pattern-Seeking Animals continue to define themselves as a band with a very important past life but in constant forward march towards their own expression. 7/10
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