INTO THE MIST OF TIME

Veteran musician Henk Bol instigated this project in 2006 and has released an album every six years since then, with the third and most recent coming out in 2024. On the earlier albums he has been named as the only band member alongside lots of guests, but on this one we see singer Ky Fyfer being promoted to full status after appearing on both the others and he also contributes multiple instruments. There are again far too many guests to list here, but I note that Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak, Camel) provides a Moog solo on one track and Nick Oosterhuis (who passed away in 2021) provides piano introduction on another. Although there are plenty of additional musicians we only get "real" drums on two of the 11 songs which is a real shame as there is no doubt that having a sweating human adding their own parts always improves the outcome.

This is categorised as crossover on PA, and that is where I would also have placed it as this is a very melodic progressive release, and Ky Fyfer is a real asset. "Diamond Eyes" fluctuates between rocking and gentler styles and is something one can imagine being released as a single in an edited form as there are great hooks, vocals and rocking guitar all combined with plenty of harmonies and melodies to make the listener reach for the controls to turn it up a little more. There is also an epic, with "Dreams Without an End" more than double the length of anything else, at more than 15 minutes. It moves and swirls, and the introduction of singer Margie Fifer-Hodgson alongside Fyfer works well, but there are certain places where it feels it is too pedestrian, without enough going on to maintain interest and justify the overall length so perhaps it would have been better with some editing.

Overall this is a pleasant prog release without being earth shattering, but it is a decent listen for those who enjoy the more melodic style and is worth hearing.

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