THE CONTINUATION

Three years ago Norwegian outfit The Windmill released their debut album with the intriguing title 'To Be Continued' and now they are back with the follow-up, hence the title. I haven't heard the debut, but it looks as if I am going to have to as this has simply blown me away. I wasn't sure if this was an instrumental act at first, as the first song has no lyrics at all, but in truth what we have here is a band that are equally as comfortable providing long instrumental passages that work incredibly well within the structure, or to have a singer fronting the band. In many ways this feels very much like a Seventies album which is down to the techniques and styles being deployed as much as it does the sounds themselves (I fall for a Hammond organ every time, it has such a great warm sound).

The guys have brought together a great mix of influences such as Alan Parsons Project and Camel, and have also managed to successfully use a flute without coming across as a Tull clone. There may only be five songs, but when the closer is some 25 minutes in length then they can be forgiven.

It is incredibly well structured, with instruments brought into the mix as and when it is required, for example in "The Masque" (the second longest song on the album at 12 minutes) there is a passage where there are just a few bars of acoustic guitar before the electric takes the front with a solo that has far more in common with neo-prog and hard rock than kit does with symphonic prog. There is no doubt that these guys are in love with the style of music being produced forty years ago, and who isn't? But this isn't some half-cocked homage, but instead is a complete immersion in the style and there is a feeling of honesty and being genuine to themselves and to the genre that is sadly missing sometimes.

This is a great album, and one that I have enjoyed playing immensely and I am sure that many progheads will feel the same way. www.thewindmill.no