NAD SYLVAN

This very interesting recording is a bit like a mini prog opera, developing the story of the aforementioned fictional vampire, the music is tremendously dramatic, pompous and rich with vibrant sounds and quirky melodies, all topped by the overly impressive vocal performance of the main man here, Nad Sylvan, who has written most of the music himself, too. It is the cast of guests and collaborators on 'The Bride Said No' that make it even more exciting - Roine Stolt, Steve Hackett, Tony Levin, Guthrie Govan, Nick D'Virgilio as well as a couple of female vocalists, everyone contributing something to the overall greatness of this hidden prog gem.

The album opens with the little 'Bridesmaids' instrumental piece leading to the keyboard-infested 'The Quartermaster', a very powerful and uplifting prog rock powerhouse of a song, developed around the main riff that Nad had in circulation for some years, in his own words. Simply a promising introduction to the rest of the record; Following this is the angelic 'When the Music Dies', a beautiful mellow composition that serves as a tribute to the greats of the musical world that have passed away. Then comes the Baroque-tinted 'The White Crown', a song which Sylvan uses to showcase his enviable vocal range, and a more guitar-oriented piece. 'What Have You Done' is a joyous mini-epic, slowly building-up and unfolding like something that has come out of the 'Wind and Wuthering'-era Genesis sessions. The next couple of songs are no less great - 'Crime of Passion' is very theatrical and even eerie, while 'A French Kiss in an Italian Caf' is just magical. The album closes off with the 12-minute title track, the apex of the whole story - haunting, intriguing, and entertaining, this is a pretty good example of all the things Nad does best, and these would, of course be, writing memorable melodies, expressing every single lyric cerebrally through his powerful voice, and surprising the listener with all the peculiar shifts taking place in his songs.

A highly recommended 2017 release, this has to be one of the hidden gems in the modern prog world; Nad Sylvan is an interesting artist who has a lot to showcase at this age of his, wearing his influences on his sleeves for sure, but also introducing his own personal ideas through gorgeous writing and instrumentation, reminiscing the best of the 70s.

Nad provides lead and backing vocals, keyboards, orchestration, electric and acoustic guitar, bass, drums, and programming while Andrew contributes lead and backing vocals, acoustic nylon, steel and 12 string guitars, and additional keyboards. Of course, Nad used his contacts to fill out the sound, so Tony Levin provides bass on four tracks, while Jonas Reingold is also present on bass for one. For drums, Sylvan targeted The Flower Kings drummer Mirkko DeMaio while Steve Hackett makes an appearance on one track titled "To a Child Dancing in the Wind." Lyrically the album is based on the poetry of William Butler Yeats, who is often referred to as one of the finest poets of all time (and a royal pain in the neck to anyone studying English Literature to any level as he was massively complex and fixated on gyres ? they still haunt me).

The result is something which sounds both fresh and invigorating, with lots of space within it, and the feeling that this belongs far more in the late Seventies than it does in the third decade of the 21st century. We get harpsichord at times, wonderful vocal harmonies of acoustic guitar, but more importantly there is loads of space contained within. This is a prog album to sit back and relax into, with a nice glass of pinot gris, keeping everything fresh and light. The lack of touring due to the pandemic means that Andrew in the US and Nad in Sweden could spend their time working on this and finessing it to a fine polish, resulting in something which is a delight from start to end. I sincerely hope we have more collaborations between the two in the future as this really is like a breath of fresh air.

"The Second Coming" opens the album with a symphonic, airy, spatial intro; rupture and association of acoustic guitar, flute and the angelic voice of Nad on a story of the Spanish flu pandemic; the orchestration takes it up a notch with a warm ALAN PARSONS organ, the drums well present, Tony's intense bass and a heady chorus; wise appetizer where the voice gradually draws on that of Cat STEVENS. "Sailing to Byzantium" for an Irish rhyme ballad à la Phil and à la Peter, choose; a progressive tempo on the moods of a man on Heaven does require a sound of pure quality; rise which plugs me into SUPERTRAMP for the place left for the piano, there is also FISH there for the orgasmic rise, the symphonic orchestration putting more relief, depth. "Cap and Bells" and that scrawl of birds on the scrawny voice, mounted with orchestral acoustics, piano, guitar and flutes, crystal clear; jazzy section in the background and Murray HEAD or Cat STEVENS for the intensity of the vocals; a sound cascade in fact dotted with folk touches. Intimate, wait-and-see "The Realists", horse trots, distant train, arrival of guitar notes; the voice of MILKS and an interlude filled with emotional, folk and medieval warmth, ideal for traveling in a lush landscape.

"The Stolen Child" on a psychedelic sound to PINK FLOYD, it goes on the titles of GENESIS and tunes on Lewis CARROLL; the voice becoming an instrument in its own right. A minimalist sound amplified by the accordion which makes you dive into ruminations with a catchy title like the desire of this child attracted by fairies, a latent air memory of the Charisma Label. "To an Isle in the Water" continues on this melancholy melody lineage; dreamlike interlude with 12-string guitar and vocals from the beginnings of GENESIS the whole entangled, title ending with a return of Chinese flute and guitar giving in the vibrations of spleen. "The Hawk" arrives to give a little atmosphere and liveliness, a bit cheerful title on THE BEATLES, on Phil on the voice after the departure of the archangel (ah the reminiscences !!), the keyboards also giving more range, ideal for reinforcing the notion that the soul can be symbolized in the form of a falcon-musical instrument; it's lively, festive, announcing the end of the album to come out of it to cheer up. "The Witch and the Mermaid" and the second fast rhyme, guitar and pastoral flute which send towards limbo or towards an interlude title of GENESIS. "The Fisherman" for the final track with bass and tambourine present, repetitive percussion rhythm put there like a medley of what could be heard; a text about the ideal man, the return of the two voices simultaneously, an electric slide guitar solo that feels good and the keyboard has priority to keep this catchy side, a title that also makes you regret the lack of gaiety and liveliness of the other.

"You've Got to Find a Way" and the first of two bonuses: a hymn, a syrupy ballad romance, composed entirely by Nad; it's rhythmic groove, almost country, folk yes, well remember to take the train to take the right track, the organ to die for, the guitar solo that was a bit lacking on the album is good here "To a Child Dancing in the Wind "and return to a poem by Yeats, track in the vein of an old GENESIS, latent acoustics led by Steve HACKETT in person, pastoral with the voices of Nad and Laitres; at the end wait a minute and you will have the hidden bonus, little sequel to the cover of 'The Hawk'.

NAD SYLVAN is therefore releasing an album full of dark romanticism with harmonies calibrated to give you a little less than an hour of relaxation, if you take the plunge to take the CD version with the bonus of his friend Steve. An intimate, introspective album that plunges into the depths of Genesis. Ideal for a romantic evening by the fire.

Contributing instrumental interest to this new Sylvan recording, we find a nice selection of well-loved prog names, including Steve Hackett and Tony Levin. On the vocal duties Nad is assisted by Andrew Laitres (The Winter Tree), resulting that collaboration in a considerable embelishment of the record in the form of harmonies & duets. Laitres lends also his sensible acoustic guitar work, which vertebrates and brings a great sense of flow to the whole album.

As for the influences, I can point to the obvious, and to the not so obvious ones. On the obvious side, we have the Phil Collins & Cat Stevens tinged vocals of the main singer. This Wind & Wuthering Genesis-like colour reaches also the harmonies, for example in track 7 The Hawk, to a really beautiful effect. It's also clearly audible an overall sound reminding of Steve Hackett's Under A Mediterranean Sky (2021), using the union of mostly acoustic sounds with orchestral arrangements in order to create historically, geographically and culturally exotic atmospheres. The perfect example of this exotic twist is given in track 2 Sailing to Byzantium, with terrific parts of piano. And coming now to the less obvious side of the influence, as soon as the album starts we are taken into an Al Stewart-like journey through time, in which the acoustic guitar leads the way, occasionally relieved by other instruments, like harpsichord, and by the band itself.

A bag of treats, waiting to be explored to the bottom.

His vocals tend to reunite the theatrical manierism of Peter Gabriel with the nasal & high-pitched voice of Phil Collins. The overall sound reminds me immediately of "Wind And Wuthering", with some brushes of "Selling England By The Pound" here and there. The list of guest musicians is amazing, but still it feels like slightly misused, since the music never gains the whole lot of intensity that one might expect from such talented congregation. Anyway, there are many fine instrumental moments along the album, as a reference you should listen to the suite "To Turn the Other Side".

Derivative but, even so, enjoyable

- I Am the Sea is a beautiful opener, with a catchy chorus and atmospheric verses. It closes with a really beautiful guitar solo.

- Oahu is a fun short early Genesis-like song, again with very good catchy chorus.

- Whoa is a more tradition NAD song, starting with synth line and building up a groove from there.

- The 12 minutes of The Regal Bastard makes it the epic song that it deserves to be, the piano and drums playing is really impressive.

- Things slowdown with Leave Me On These Waters with a final gently guitar solo, creating a really beautiful and relaxing song.

- Honey I'm Home is a final instrumental that closes the album perfectly.

4.5/10

Nad Sylvan's solo albums consist of himself working with various other artists as needed in each album. In "The Regal Bastard", he works with not only Steve Hackett, but also Tony Levin and Guthrie Govan (from "The Aristocrats", whose 2019 album I reviewed just yesterday, coincidentally). Nad provides vocals, guitars, keyboards and piano, but also included in the band line up for this album is Hackett and Govan on guitars, Levin on bass and also Anders Wollbeck on keyboards, Jonas Reingold on bass and Nick D'Virgilio on drums and percussion. This album consists of 7 tracks with two additional tracks on the CD. This album is also the final part of what is called The Vampirate Trilogy.

"I Am the Sea" starts the album off as a track that is somewhat soft and wandering at first, but on each verse, the music builds and becomes more emotional leading up to a great guitar solo at the end. I have a bit of a problem with the vocals however, as they seem to be a bit forced at times, and not very strong in the softer parts of the song, but they improve on the heavier portions of the song. He does his best to give a performance that would land somewhere between Gabriel and Collins, but his pitch tends to wander a bit too much. "Oahu" continues with the sea faring theme with a breezy track. Again, I find the vocals a bit annoying, but the music itself isn't bad. "Whoa (Always Been Without You)" improves a bit on the vocals, but the music itself is less interesting as it is a simple steady beat throughout. Again the music itself is decent, and there is a nice guitar solo in the middle, but it's dragged out a bit at the end. For a 7+ minute song, it doesn't really go anywhere.

"Meet Your Maker" is a bright and upbeat track, but again, it doesn't develop into anything interesting. The guest female vocalist helps a bit allowing reprieve from time to time from the usual questionable vocals. "The Regal Bastard" is the 12 minute epic track. Starting with vocals and mostly piano, the music develops as it moves into the second verse, adding an orchestral element. The track definitely has a more progressive feel to it and does seem to be the highlight of the album, even the vocals seem to fit quite well to the entire picture. After the halfway point, some nice harmonies and great bass sound comes in and the music starts to really develop well, with a great synth solo. The vocals return at 7 minutes and the symphonic sound takes over again. Another instrumental break comes along and the music is a nice flowing feeling that moves along at a moderately fast pace before moving into a stop-start section that builds nicely. The last few minutes consist of the third verse and some meandering.

"Leave Me On These Waters" is a fairly standard ballad style track that stays that way, but has an extended guitar solo in the last half which is nice. "Honey I'm Home" is a short, jubilant, mostly instrumental epilogue. The two bonus tracks come next with "Dva Time", which is mostly straightforward soft rock and "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" which is more symphonic sounding and ballad-like.

The album is decent enough, and has some excellent musical passages, but the vocals and some of the melodies are not that great. The definite stand out track is the title track which is also the longest of the bunch, but the other tracks each have their own issues, and the music is not very venturesome, and mostly quite standard and non progressive. It's something I would listen to on occasion, but far from the best new music that I have heard this year.

After a brief sonic intro, the whistling 'The Quartermaster' lays down the mood quite effectively, a modern prog ditty with thrash rhythms and a hard ass demeanor. Jonas carves the low end, Nick bashes persuasively and Nad sings his heart out, aided by some siren vocals from the ladies. Shimmer, shake and shambles, this is a rowdy adventure that owes a great deal to classic prog stories, flushed by some strident synth colorations.

A mammoth track like 'When the Music Dies' will win anyone over with the sheer magnificence of the melancholic melody, the glorious chorus and the intricate buildup to both. Nad's vocal delivery is not only deeply heartfelt but it's also overpoweringly impressive. Levin and Perry really do the modern rhythm tandem rather well, pulsating forward with glee. I love the similitude to the Bond theme of 'You Only Live Twice', a perfect melody and a genial arching chorus. This my friends, is the real deal. Killer!

More upbeat and very 'Genesisian' is 'The White Crown' with Reingold and D'Virgilio leading the process, involving some spooky synth passages, a high-pitched duet develops between Nad (who can hit the high notes) and backing female vocalist Sheona Urquhart, a very convincing piece of complexity.

On the sultry ballad 'What Have you Done', Nad tells quite the sweet story, trading vocals with Jade Ell and luxuriating in the breeze, sliced open by a long passionate Hackett solo followed by a patented Govan scorcher that smolders like phosphorus. This is another timeless piece of brilliance that cannot and should not escape awareness.

Another nugget is the bold and convincing 'Crime of Passion', with Roine Stolt conducting the proceedings with his slippery guitar rants, Jonas and Nick propelling resolutely and monstrous symphonic keys icing the cake. The orchestrations add a dramatic dimension to the arrangement that elevates it from its rather humble origins. Hackett makes another cameo as only he can, immediately identifiable and mesmerizing.

Tony Levin proves again why he remains the master of the 'basso profundo' (a live quote from the Gabe), manhandling the electric bass as well as the Chapman stick with genial bravado on the romantic and cinematographic 'A French Kiss in an Italian Caf'. Allied with splendid backing vocals from Urquhart and Ell, sliced by some more Hackett , Nad overflows with bittersweet ''l'gance' and 'amore', deliberately emoting on the highest plane. Urquhart blasts a very Roxy Music-ish sax solo to finish off.

The title track is the epic 12 minute+ cliff-hanger that infuses drama and vocal gymnastics from three busy lead vocalists (Nad, Jade and Tania Doko), thus performing a mini-opera of sorts with a story of unfulfilled love and the yearning for freedom. While highly progressive and theatrical, there is a soulful feel that is immediately apparent, not just in the vocal mannerisms but also in the sensual musical instrumentation, that span the slick and sultry to the bombastic and delirious. The instrumental proficiency on display here is ridiculous, by any standard, Jonas in particular proving his reputation as a maestro of the bass guitar. The dynamic storytelling is compelling and convincing, forcing Hackett to blast a tortuous solo off into the stratosphere. Great imagery, fabulous words and a dramatic delivery wins me over immediately, as the white crown makes a reappearance in the lyrics. Slick dude, you are Nad. You go, guy! The mid-section is distinguished by a wailing aria from Tania that will shake your universe, soulfully emotive and overpoweringly impressive. The bride then says no, which leads to a 2 minute silence and a hidden 5 minute bonus track called 'Black Sheep'.

A very entertaining release from an artist that I admired from afar but did not really comprehend. I do now. He is not just another pretty face or a musical box. He is Nad Sylvan.

4 dead rings

I wish more albums would be more like this.

4,8/5