A BLUEPRINT OF THE WORLD

Enchant's debut album was produced with a little help here and there from Marillion's Steve Rothery, and that's a fairly clear indication of what to expect here - an American answer to UK-style neo-prog. The most obvious touchstone is Marillion, with their sound drawn mainly from the period ranging from Clutching at Straws to the proggier parts of Holidays in Eden (think Splintering Heart), but with an attentive ear one can also catch shades of Jadis and IQ, suggesting that Enchant had a fairly deep knowledge of this style of prog. One could also draw comparisons to the sort of material which fellow US neo-proggers Iluvatar were cooking up at this time.

Despite the aid of Rothery behind the producer's desk for some of the sessions, overall the album has a rather thin sound and the mix is kind of off, at least on some editions, though thankfully the 2CD reissue (which I have at last had a chance to hear) has addressed this issue. The band offer a competent rendition of neo-prog material which won't win any awards for originality but is broadly pleasing to the ear.