LAND OF HOPE

Behind this misleading band name, there is a jewel. Sort off....

It is pretty obvious that this band has gone back to the classics in the symponic prog, neo prog and prog metal to come up with their sound. Take a dash of Marillion, Yes, Genesis and Dream Theater = this album. Then add female vocals and some grammes of local flavor and you get Land Of Hope. Or as I want to rename it to; Album Of Hope. Hope is exactly what this band gives me. Hope of a real earth shattering killer album next time around.

The music is in other words clean and based on the classics. The quality is very good throughout. There is no real killer tracks here and even some great tracks is missing here. But my overall impression of this album is very favorable. The songs has some Scandinavian flavor with enchanting darkness and mysticism. The female vocals are excellent and so is the musicianship. The sound too is excellent. Which makes this album a very elegant album.

In my view, this is not a great album. But it is still a jewel and almost essential for those who likes a mix of Marillion and Dream Theater with excellent female vocals. But I am not one of them, though.

3.5 stars