DIFFERENCES AS LIGHT

Despite being a modern Prog band on the rise, Also Eden continued to struggle to find a stable crew to move on.In 2009 Tim Coleman ended his short stint with the group and the same year the band had to part ways with the excellent voice of Huw Lloyd-Jones, leaving Ian Hodson as the only original founder of Also Eden.Dave Roelofs jumped behind the drum kit and Rich Harding was the new vocalist.In order to present the new members to the public three new compositions were written and released in 2009 through the mini-CD ''Differences as light''.

New singer Rich Harding had a rougher and less sensitive voice as heard in the opening piece ''Seeing red''.This belongs among the very good tracks written by the group, absolutely suitable to the voice of Harding: bombastic, dramatic Neo Prog, featuring heavier guitar moves ala ARENA and background orchestral keyboards in the vein of IQ, passing through different segments with changing moods and characterized by impressive songwriting skills.With the following ''Oud en nieuw'' (means ''Old and new'' in Dutch) Harding will have the chance to display his more emotional side.A low-tempo ballad-like piece, delivered mostly on piano and acoustic guitars with a surprising string section towards the end.The three-part closing ''Reality cheque'' is a typical Neo Prog piece, kicking off with some smooth guitar playing and Harding's balanced singing lines before developing into a heavier monster with keyboard effects and hard-edged guitars and finally evolving in an ambiental mood with Harding leading the track to a beautiful guitar solo by Simon Rogers, supported by Hodson's playful synthesizers, much in an early MARILLION style.

A decent presentation for the new cast of Also Eden, containing two very nice cuts and one trully excellent piece.Recommended, even if it shouldn't actually belong among the top priorities of a Prog fan.