THE VOYAGE - A TRIP TO ELSEWHERE

A competent, if rather meandering release from Isildurs Bane, The Voyage: A Trip to Elsewhere at points puts me in mind of The Enid; on this album the band's sound tends towards extended sections of classical piano, much like many Enid albums, and like the Enid said piano performances do occasionally risk drifting into schmaltzy territory. Still, it's an interesting and most definitely original symphonic concept album which harks back to the approach of the 1970s greats whilst at the same time not sounding a whole lot like any of them, so fans of symphonic prog who want a band who doesn't follow the tired old "let's take the Yes/King Crimson/ELP/whatever sound and update it a little" path may find a lot to like here.