HELIOTIANS

"Heliotians" is the third full-length studio album by US progressive rock/jazz-rock/fusion act Deluge Grander. The album was released through Emkog Records label in February 2014. It´s the successor to "The Form Of The Good" from June 2009, although the two Deluge Grander albums are bridged by the September 2013 second full-length studio album by keyboard player Dan Britton´s other project Birds and Buildings. Only Britton and drummer Patrick Gaffney remain from the lineup who recorded "The Form Of The Good", although female vocalist Megan Wheatley has guested on the last couple of Deluge Grander releases and appears to have now become a permanent member of the lineup (at least on this album). Other new members are Cliff Phelps (guitars, vocals), Christopher West (bass, flute, vocals), and Natalie Spehar (cello).

Stylistically "Heliotians" is a very different release to the first two Deluge Grander releases, as it´s a much more pure progressive rock recording, compared to the previous more hybrid progressive rock/jazz-rock/fusion styled albums. Both male and female vocals are featured prominently on "Heliotians" and in many ways it sounds like an almost completely different band playing here than on "August in the Urals" (2006) and on "The Form Of The Good". This is 70s influenced progressive rock. Symphonic and featuring the use of vintage keyboards/organs and influences from classical music and folk, and it´s only occasionally jazz-rock/fusion tinged.

If the preceding albums were all over the place and featured a both busy, challenging, and eclectic playing style and a ditto eclectic songwriting approach, "Heliotians" is a much more consistent and coherrent release. There´s a clear structure and progression of the tracks and they don´t jump from one songwriting idea to the next with no apparent connection. Instead "Heliotians" appear more mature and less wild than the previous releases. It´s a beautiful, epic, and melodic progressive rock album, and all involved are high level musicians. Early King Crimson mixed with some Renaissance could be a description of the band´s music, but Deluge Grander aren´t a clone band. They can certainly hold their own, both in terms of musicianship and songwriting.

Therefore it´s a bit of a shame that "Heliotians" sometimes feels a bit underproduced. Especially the drums have a tendency to drown in the soundscape, and a bit more power and clarity wouldn´t have hurt. On the other side this sounds a lot like something out of the 70s progressive rock scene, which also featured many releases with relatively questionable sound production values, so it may not be all bad to the ears of a traditional progressive rock listener. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.