NUMB EYES, THE SOUL REVELATION

Although the UK had started the whole neo-prog thing in the early 1980s and then brought it to a more majestic perfection in time for the prog revival of the 1990s, many other bands were getting in on the act during that time from all over the world however most of these one shot artists have been largely forgotten assuming they were noticed at all during their short run. One such band was HARNAKIS which emerged from the city of Tarrgona, Spain and consisted of Santi Calero (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar), Karli Montejano (bass), Lali Belza (lead vocals, keyboards), J.M. Orobitg (electric guitar, acoustic guitar) and Enric Pascual (drums, percussion).

This band released its one and only album NUMB EYES, THE SOUL REVELATION in the 1990s slightly before bands like IQ, Arena and Pendragon would bring a renewed popularity to the neo-prog genre after the Fish-era Marillion years. HARNAKIS delivered a more diverse style than the average neo-band of the day with the usual influences from Hackett-era Genesis as well as the symphonic touches heard from Camel and Yes. The band was clearly looking to its English influences as there are really no traces of any Spanish connection with even the lyrics performed in English. The album features six tracks at 42 plus minutes with the two closing longer track features a series of mini-suites.

The musicians were very talented and performed quite remarkably and the band showcased its excellent compositional writing skills however the weakest link is often cited as the somewhat lackluster vocal performances however the album is probably more instrumental overall than vocal oriented but it is true that Santi Calero's vocals which evoke a Jon Anderson falsetto sometimes don't have the range to get the job done but for the most part they are acceptable. The bands second female vocalist Lali Belza takes the lead occasional and fairs better. The main draw of NUMB EYES, THE SOUL REVELATION are the musical performance themselves as the band breathed a new creative touch to the neo-prog style that infused it with obvious Yes-like motifs as well as touches of space rock from Pink Floyd and beyond.

The proggy constructs have been compared to bands like Asia Minor and that wouldn't be inaccurate but HARNAKIS clearly had a style of its own and offered a more varied style than what most neo-prog bands were cranking out in the late 80s and early 90s. This one seems to get panned but i find it somewhat refreshing and despite the vocals not hitting the high notes of a top dog symphonic prog band i can't say i find them unpleasant in the least. In fact often i find this underdog albums more interesting than some of the more popular influences that went into the mix. A surprise album that belies the fact that it emerged from Spain as the band had mastered the English style perfectly. Nice compositions, decent production and above average instrumental performances leaves me loving this a lot more than pretty much everyone else out there!