PROPHECY

This release includes three bonus tracks, Steven Wilson's remixes from SOLSTICE's debut album Silent Dance (1984), so I'll start with them. Silk soft sounds, girlish-sounding female vocalist called Sandy Leigh, and 6-7-minute melodic compositions that are like a mix of the most calm Caravan with their jazz flavour and some folky soft pop such as Clannad, except more instrumentally oriented. Beautiful!

During the long career the group has changed all members except the songwriting guitarist Andy Glass, but the style has remained mostly in peaceful atmospheres. There are several female voices in more recent Neo Prog not very different from Emma Brown, but that is a good thing after all. Prophecy is a finely produced, nearly an hour-long work divided in only five longish tracks. The leaflet features colour drawings by Marvel artist Barry Kitson.

The opener 'Eyes of Fire' is nearly narcotically slow horizon-painting, while the second track contains interludes with a bumpy rhythm pattern, fiddle-playing and somehow wandering instrumental part. In the beginning of 'Warriors' the guitar sounds make one think of Pink Floyd, but in its 17½ -minute entirety the composition is over-extended, epic Neo Prog that has some difficulties to keep itself together. And actually the same criticism suits more or less for the whole album. It's definitely delightful to hear so serene and yet many-sided prog these times (when metal is often the keyword), but I can't help getting some faint feelings of boredom, ie. waiting of something more exciting to happen. Do I sound too harsh on this beautiful album? Anyway, otherwise this is very recommendable, instrumentally emphasized and slightly folk-flavoured melodic Neo Prog in the vein of Iona, Karnataka or early Mostly Autumn. 3½ stars!

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