THE CIRCLING HOUR

This band has such a distinctive sound, almost every proghead will recognize the wonderful blend of prog and folk with the emotional Gaelic overtones. On this album I am delighted about the drumwork, in my opinion the backbone in the 11 compositions, he leads and pushes the music of Iona in a very dynamic way. The first song Emperyan Dawn is a great starter, it ranges from dreamy to bombastic with beautiful play on the bagpipe and violin, we can enjoy some fiery guitar and of course the wonderful, often high- pitched female vocals, the trademark of this style. The other 10 songs alternate between folky and dreamy climates with lots of room for typical Gaelic folk instruments like the bagpipes and tin-whistles along piano, acoustic guitar and violin. Ang again I would like to mention the strong drumwork, together with the heavy guitar riffs they avoid that the music becomes too laidback or too smooth. Some tracks deliver quite fiery electric guitar soli, a captivating contrast with the folky sound by Iona. The final song Fragment Of A Fiery Sun delivers a guest appearance by Mostly Autumn female singer Heather Findlay. Iona has succeeded to make a very tasteful, melodic and harmonic album, the fans will be pleased! My rating: 3,5 stars.