BEYOND THE SEVENTH WAVE

Silhouette's last album, "Across the Rubicon", was a personal favorite for me for the year 2012, so I had high expectations for this new release, "Beyond the Seventh Wave". And after my first few listens, I thought this was almost as good as "Rubicon" But now, after repeated listens over the last couple of months, I actually think is album is much better than "Rubicon". At first I thought the songs had a certain sameness about them, as they were not instantly memorable. But now, after having learned the music, my appreciation of the album has grown with each new listen, and I have raised my rating from four stars to five stars. There are no weak tracks on the album.

The guitar-keyboard interplay is superb, and the vocals, although generally on the higher pitched side, are appropriate for the music, varying from soft to aggressive, such as in the title track. So for me, this album has everything I would want- outstanding musicianship, good vocals, and excellent compositions. And considering that I was disappointed with Knight Area's latest release, I now consider Silhouette to be my favorite of the Dutch prog bands. Highly recommended.