SALISBURY

Progarchives got it right in categorising this one: "Heavy Prog" is the name of the game. Whilst the brutal guitar work characteristic of heavy metal is more or less absent on this album, Ken Hensley's organ skills and, on the title track, Mr Fiddy's brass and woodwind instruments play a crucial role in keeping the music loud and, where it needs to be, aggressive. Whilst not all of the songs on the album are top-notch - High Priestess, in particular, feels like lightweight filler, though the vocal harmonies are admittedly gorgeous - it deserves credit for managing to establish a heavy and metal-like atmosphere despite eschewing what would eventually be seen as typical metal instrumentation and compositional practices. Four stars.