FROM LAND TO OCEAN

After some gigs in Spain and their homecountry Galleon focused on working on a double album, an idea Göran Fors was thinking of for a number of years.The band entered the Fenix Studios and worked there for three consecutive years, only interrupted for some rare lives.The album was titled ''From land to ocean'' and was released in 2003 on the Progress label.

First CD (''The land'') is structurally typical of a Galleon release, a mix of 10+ min. mini-epics with a few shorter tracks thrown in, built around balanced guitars and a combination of heavy synths and vintage organ.I get a feeling that the band comes a bit closer to contemporary Prog bands like SPOCK'S BEARD, adding a few jazzy and poppy tunes into the mix, revisiting more often the GENESIS fundamentals, but they have not lost their identity by any means.Lots of acoustic interludes and electric fests with powerful keyboards around, delivered via some spacey moods and overpowered by symphonic colors and neurotic flashes.Again the melodies are very good and the solos are sensational, Galleon were a mature enough band to compose another solid album.But the mellow parts and the overall arrangements sound now just an inch closer to the 70's, PINK FLOYD, GENESIS and MARILLION being the basic influences.

The whole centerpoint of this double album though is the second CD ''The ocean'', consisting of one single piece, clocking at 52 minutes.Was the band inspired by a similar attempt by THE FLOWER KINGS a few years back noone actually knows.I say this because ''The ocean'' contains lots of elements from the style of their compatriots, retaining a personal identity all the way.This is not all about classic Neo/Symphonic Prog here, the long duration allows Galleon to move comfortably between unrelated segments and the whole discussion falls into the track's cohesion.Several spins later I can say that this is an excellent piece of music with a great proportion between heavy rhythms, epic tunes, atmospheric soundscapes and symphonic textures, passing through ambiental moods, grandiose orchestrations and complex twists with the influences expanding to RUSH and KING CRIMSON and a few more doses of jazzy lines thrown in.Solid piece of art, always relying on the MARILLION school of Prog but with a more flexible and nostalgic style, similar to acts such as THE D PROJECT or DAGMAHR.

One of the top Galleon albums and a good candidate for the year's best Prog album.Mature Progressive Rock with strong inspirations from the classic era, mainly PINK FLOYD and GENESIS.Great music, highly recommended.