DIAGONAL

Diagonal sounds like a lost gem from 69. Full of psychedelic heavy rock influences and early progressive rock. Next to the superb songwriting and inspired musicianship, the band really surprises me with having such a vintage vibe while never sounding like any particular band. Nevertheless, I'll throw a few dozen band names at you in the hope of convincing you why they might appeal to you.

A first influence that comes to mind is heavy psychedelic rock from Iron Butterfly and early Deep Purple. Especially the lead vocalist Alex Crispin with his warm soulful voice seems to come right out of the 60's. The music is decidedly British, with those typical dreamy melancholic melodies and harmonies. So obviously the 60's sound of Pink Floyd must be added to the list.

The songwriting mixes jamming with accomplished progressive song structures that bring Van Der Graaf and Gentle Giant back to mind. Saxophones, organs, hammonds and mellotron complement the solid & swinging rhythm section that fires these long songs forward. The spirit of the Doors is never far away neither.

I can't find any fault with any of the 5 tracks here. Each of them brings something else to the table: the jazz-rock of Colosseum on Semi Permeable Men-Brain, lighthouse keeper plagues on Child of the Thiunder-Cloud, warm melancholia on Deathwatch, irresistible bass grooves on Cannon Misfire and stirring blues on Pact.

For some reason this album hasn't caught the attention of Astra's Weirding, an album with a comparable vintage sound. Diagonal resides entirely in 1969 spheres and they sound perfectly at easy there. A masterpiece of songwriting, musicianship, intensity and love for music. My pick for review #900!