RING OF ROSES

"Ring Of Roses" is the debut full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Shadowland. The album was released through the Dutch SI Music label in 1992. Shadowland formed in the early 1990s, and features among others prolific names like lead vocalist/keyboard player Clive Nolan (Pendragon, Arena) and guitarist Karl Groom (Threshold).

Stylistically the material on "Ring Of Roses" is a pop/rock oriened neo-progressive rock. The least progressive material by Pendragon, Marillion, and IQ are valid references, but "Ring Of Roses" is generally less interesting if you crave progressive music. It´s melodic, pleasant, and sometimes epic in atmosphere, but also a little lite weight and mainstream melodic leaning. That´s not necessarily an issue, but since those who probably pick up an album like this are fans of the above mentioned artists, I´m not sure shadowland reaches the right audience.

When Shadowland produce something a little more progressive leaning as they do on the 14:23 minutes long "Hall Of Mirrors" or on the instrumental "The Kruhulick Syndrome", they shine the most. It´s obvious that these guys are very skilled musicians and the fretless bass playing of Ian Salmon is a nice touch (along with the beautiful melodic guitar solos from Groom), but the compositions on the 7 tracks, 57:27 minutes long album (even longer if you have the 1997 reissue which features two bonus tracks) are simply not eventful enough. Nolan is arguably a skilled vocalist, but for all his skills his vocals soon become one-dimensional and he has trouble communicating them to have an emotional impact on the listener.

The sound production is a bit lacking. You can hear all details but there´s not power and warmth there, so upon conclusion "Ring Of Roses" doesn´t come at you screaming that you should listen to it, instead of listening to your regular go-to neo-progressive releases by the above mentioned artists. This one is reduced to a foot-note in neo-progressive rock history and there are plenty of reasons why that is. Being a skilled musician and composer just isn´t enough if what you put out is as shallow and lacking of emotional impact as "Ring Of Roses" is. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

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