Netherworld — Netherworld (In The Following Half-Light) (1981)
Now and then we take a look back at one of the reviews from our ever-growing archive to see if the album has stood the test of time. We did a series of this in 2015, when DPRP had its 20th anniversary, and this series was first published on a dedicated blog, thearchivesofprog.blogspot.com. We did a series like this in 2018, when we had done 20 years of album reviews, under the title 20 Years Of Reviews.
Jerry van Kooten
It was around 1983 when I learnt about this album, and it has been an all-time favourite ever since. Twenty years later I was happy to be instrumental in getting it reissued on CD, and I am glad that our objective team member Mark Hughes agreed with me on the full 10/10 score in our duo review. Another twelve years later, how are things now?
Prog in the USA around that time was rare, but the opening track, recorded in 1981 would have fitted right into the second wave of prog in Britain. Side A's closing song is weirdly modern and haunting, and between those are two true progressive songs. Side B still has two of the most beautiful, more classic prog songs I know. Then there's even the scary Sargasso and brilliant bonus track in Cumulo Nimbus. A great combination of different sub-styles of the prog genre on a single album and all done to a very high level emotional, not too technical, with amazing arrangements. Yup, this is still one of my favourite albums.
From the DPRP review archives, read the original duo review of Netherworld.
Read it here
Find out more from the Netherworld website here