W.A.L.H.F. MORE F. (WITH A LITTLE HELL FROM MORE FRIENDS)

The name of Greco Bastián may not be the most nominated title in the modern day of avant-prog, but this year definitely crowned him king of the genre with his newest offering of With a Little Hell From More Friends.

This is a sequel of sorts towards With a Little Hell From My Friends, which was released 2 years ago in 2022. I had known of Greco due to seeing that record around in ProgArchives from time to time, and it was intriguing, but not enough for me to listen to it. However, this year I did check it out, and I just thought it was pretty good. So imagine my surprise when the real Greco Bastián, yes really, offered a free download for his new escapade that he and his friends have created. Safe to say, curiosity got the better of me, and let's just say I am a dead cat, murdered by amazing music!

Like the title suggests, there are now more musicians here than before, with 34 in total, most of which come from more avant-prog acts. We have such names like Tatsuya Yoshida, Matt Hollenberg, Patrick Gauthier, and the most intriguing being the entirety of Mercury Tree. The list continues on from there, but you get the picture. With this eclectic set of hands, the album would sound like a nightmare, surely right? Well, yes, but also not in a bad way. With each set of musicians being set into an individual track, they are able to put their all into the recordings without it feeling too overbearing.

The musicians work flawlessly together. None of them feel like they really overshadow the other, which I think is great. A lot of collaborated projects like this oftentimes make one act in a large collective shine above the rest, but none of them have that here. Sure, some definitely seem to have a bit more stage presence with some showing back up in later songs, but even still the dynamic remains pure. It is honestly magical.

Musically it is magical too! This record bends the more classical styles of RIO, the jazziness of zeuhl, and the noisy brutal prog to its whims, and in doing so creates a mix of something that feels passionate and haunting. Kobaïan Call to War (Part 1) and Clownnecticut legitimately gives me chills by how creepy they sound, and the rest of the album too has this almost perverse air that I cannot get enough of. There is so much music jammed into each track that the more I listen, the more I see each track for the masterpiece they are! Really, there are no bad scores here. Some tracks I do prefer over others, but what is on here is still extremely well made.

Also the production value is honestly superb. With a Little Hell From My Friends has good mixings too, but this one is just amazing. I honestly never expected a self release like this, especially from a solo act could end up sounding so great! It's noisy, but in a way that suits the music. It's intense, but not in a way that makes things too hard. It's raw, but not unfiltered. It is a perfect blend of strength and clarity that really gives it magic.

This love letter to the avant-prog scene is now permanently in my heart, as I see it, like many others, as a purebred masterpiece. Where Mannequin offered a masterpiece in the more lush world of prog pop, and Charcoal Grace made a masterpiece in the progressive metal landscapes, With a Little Hell From More Friends showed an avant- prog experience worth remembering. With how good modern day avant-garde music has been, it seems like we are in a new renaissance for some juicy opposing rocks.

Best tracks: Extitled, Kobaïan Call to War (Part 2)

Worst tracks: n/a