THANK YOU FROM THE FUTURE

He slept through the night before last, hoping not to wake; but he woke in the morning?yesterday. It was blowing a blizzard. He said, 'I am just going outside and may be some time.' He went out into the blizzard and we have not seen him since?

With these words, the London-based trio Million Moons presents their second album. "I May Be Some Time" is an impressive work where Ed Thompson, Soloman Radley, and Freddie Harrison create instrumental post-rock that oscillates between cinematic sounds and brutal metal. It's somewhat akin to what Ton Scherpenzeel does on "Virgin Grounds" but mixed with the powerful metal music of early Tool. Who plays what is not specified, but it doesn't need to be. Guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, and drums excellently express the adventurous spirit in the polar region and need no further specification.

However, the seven tracks of the album demand to be discussed individually. The music lies somewhat outside the comfort zone of this website, so I don't want to hide behind generalities.

The first track, Terra Nova, is a rather short composition that begins atmospherically and when more rhythm is added, escalates into a lively piece with many cymbals. The sizzling middle section with its delightful drum breaks could have lasted a few more minutes for me. But well, on to Uncharted Waters. The first few minutes are the most intense that Million Moons has to offer. The raw energy blasts out of the speakers, and I feel comfortable, especially since the gentlemen then rebuild the track towards a compelling prog-metal finale. Barely recovered from this track, Voice Of The Wild appears. The beginning of the track is solid and seems somewhat superfluous to me. It feels forced, especially since the main part of the track brings a broad grin to my face. Here, the band presents an intense blend of Coldplay-like intimacies and fragments of prog-metal.

Million Moons excels in such combinations. The following tracks continue in the same vein. The beauty of post-rock is that you can sometimes feel a change in atmosphere coming from afar. Intruders In A Strange World has such a foreboding prelude. I can appreciate this kind of musical ingenuity. The solemn prog-metal passage of the title track I May Be Some Time is also right up my alley, as is the arpeggio of Endure Overcome with which the track rebuilds. With Aurora, Million Moons weaves a fantastic ending to the album. The tone is reflective for a long time until the piece unfolds into fitting prog-metal. It is repeatedly astonishing to observe how effortlessly the band manages to color their compositions.

Metal enthusiasts will have a great time with the album. The combination with cinematic sounds is, in my opinion, quite unique, and placing the music in the post-rock genre makes everything perfectly coherent.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com