HARMONY / SYNCHRONICITY

LEE ABRAHAM is a musician, basic bassist of the group GALAHAD; there he released his 9th studio album in which he played guitar, bass and keyboards. He worked with Karl GROOM and Martin ORFORD and listened to DREAM THEATER and SPOCK'S BEARD a lot for a while. The cover of the sleeve is from Robin ARMSTRONG of COSMOGRAF. During the covid confinement, he locked himself up to compose this album dealing at the text level with reasoned or abstract fear and the notion of death from this virus. A studio album with just his friend drummer from the group CREDO and five singers from the progressive current including some big names who have played the game of singing everything from a distance .. LEE ABRAHAM fell in my headphones with the CD "Distant Days" in 2014 and had seduced me by this very typical English prog metal sound. Hop let's take a closer look.

"The World is Falling Down" begins the album with an already confusing title, mix of prog with the synth and heavy prog for the riff, in short a thunderous intro which gives pep; then the very old school and edgy voice in line with a band from NWOBM. There comes a big riff and the muffled voice on a more structured solo and a very present bass; it unwinds the ears, it changes especially becoming almost a ballad towards the end; an innovative and astonishing title which recalls without problem GALAHAD just for the song. "Stay" arrives on a more pop-prog-rock variation, a little in the tradition of GENESIS "Abacab" era, piano and synth line for a rhyme based on the voice of Peter from TIGER MOTH TALES; a simple sequel that could become a hit if prog music could go on the radio. "Hearing the Call" comes in for the longest track on the album and a long crescendo bordering on neo-prog at ARENA here; its heavy, well-syncopated drums and keying synth all wound up by a catchy riff quite greasy; progressive rock flawlessly, without pure creation because feeling the different winks at various progressive structures of hands groups; it's long, it seems a bit overrated at times, still weighing down like the early metal-progressive bands before their time, I think of THRESHOLD or SHADOWLAND. The guitar solo that occurs is there divine, aerial and allows the return to the voice of Mark. "Misguided Pt 2" arrives as a musical and instrumental interlude on a track that can follow up with his 2014 CD; a nervous riff at the start, a space interlude on the synth to go far, very far from the Earth and this covid which never ceases to disturb the public performance space in addition to the physical inconvenience; the sumptuous finale on a return to the Andalusian guitar, full of charm, warmth then a charming and bewitching solo, full of emotion and warmth far from the starting riff, riff which returns for the last notes with a sound à la GALAHAD well prog metal. "Never Say Never" begins the second part of the album with piano intro, muted ROTHERY guitar accompanying Steve HOGARTH, well we could believe it, no it is Mark again who sings here on a title Marillionnesque you get it right, easy title, fresh, well in place to stay ahead but lacking drifts and other progressive drawers; a catch-all title that we hoped would be punchier! "Rise Again" follows with the smallest title but not the least interesting; a sweet ballad with everything you need to melt, the metronome side makes your head sway, the nostalgic synth and Mark's voice with backing vocals cause a blunt return in the past with his little solo that shows that Lee can excel in many areas. "Harmony / Synchronicity" title of the album to conclude with a more rhythmic, more playful track, the guitar flirting with the good old hard VAN HALEN; in fact this title starts with nervous AOR and fits well, a little prog FM rock there, it is well soaked, it is effective and still agreed also reminding the period MARILLION era Hogarth even to TWELFTH NIGHT, bringing back to sounds already heard; the guitar solo saves in my opinion the halfway point by offering a beautiful set in two stages, almost symphonic as Steve HACKETT did on the best solos of the late GENESIS period "Selling England", then the guitar s' wraps and brings closer to nirvana. Return to the more predictable chorus.

LEE ABRAHAM has just released a singular album with 5 different voices and in fact offering a rather disjointed album, mixing ballads jumbled up with nervous and punchy developments, which upsets the rest of the songs a little; a singular album with a lot of diverse orientations going from neo to prog metal, an album as confusing which is a little fishy by the distinction of the voices and seeming more to be a digest of several groups: on the one hand it can shock you, from the other can prevent you from falling into repetitive titles, it's up to you. One thing is certain, GALAHAD gave him lots of ideas.