Issue 2026-013

Hidas — A Sense Of Impending Doom

Calum Gibson

Hidas come to us from Germany with their second album of instrumental doom/stoner metal. Since their inception, they released a self-titled album back in 2023, followed by a live recording of their show at El Ritual in 2024. Now, with that experience behind them they return to us with A Sense of Impending Doom.

As an instrumental, the album relies heavily on atmosphere and riffs – and boy does it have both in abundance. The overall tone is doomy with bits of sludge and stoner thrown in. Not overly quick, it instead relies on building up this “presence” and (in a suitable way to title the album) a “sense of impending doom”. Not doom in a sad or melancholy way, but doom like an apocalypse or disaster.

It is dark and ominous with layers of a sense of foreboding to the music. Through the slow passages relying on minimalism, to the slow chugging and heavy basslines – it all adds to this soundtrack to the end of the world.

Distortion, drones, and post-doom walls of riffs are plentiful here, with the group touching a bit on the fuzzy/psychedelic sounds of the early days of heavy music but bringing it firmly into the modern era with clean production that enhances the fuzz, rather than obscure it.

Fans of stoner, sludge, and doom will enjoy this. I suspect if you enjoy the likes of Mastodon, Sleep, or Monolord then you would be wise to check out Hidas.

Lions Share — Fall From Grace

Andy Read

We've all got them. Albums that sit desolately on our shelves or get stuck forgotten in napkin-filled drawers. Sometimes for years. Sometimes for decades. Then one day you decide to have a bit of a tidy and find them again. Occasionally you even reintroduce them to your hi-fi. They play, and you exclaim: "How did I forget how great that album was?"

Go on, admit it; you've all had those moments.

Well, in the spirit of a confessional, Fall From Grace is only one of the long-forgotten albums that I rediscovered in the past year as I have packed up to move from France back to England. In my defence it was living in plain sight, on the shelf, filed under L. However when looking in that area, I'd tend to slip-out Leprous or Lanfear or, yes I will admit it, Lynyrd Skynyrd. The problem now, is that I can't stop playing this damn album.

Originally formed in Sundsvall, Sweden in 1987 by guitarist Lars Chriss, I'd even forgotten that this is the band featuring one of my favourite singers Andy (Anders) Engberg (Section A, Speaking To Stones, Beyond Twilight and currently Sorcerer). Keyboard player Kay Backlund, bassist Pontus Egberg and drummer Johan Kullberg complete the line-up on this, the band's third album.

Lions Share are not a band that usually gets a consideration in the realms of progressive music. But I was told to give this a try when it came out, and it's way more progressive than anything else in their melodic metal discography. It's not prog in the sense of complexity or over-the-top musicianship, and the shorter songs do stay within the expected style.

However, on half of this album the band is allowed to stretch out a bit. The results are fantastic. The arrangements are multi-layered, and the musicianship is from the top level. The selling point is the way in which this record is all over the place style-wise.

Try the doomy build-and-release of the title track with its organ-led bridge section, or the off-kilter riffage and multi-faced melodic lines of Drowning. This one is very much like a down-tuned Section A. Again it goes off-script in the bridge. Even the Dio-esque A Touch Of Evil, has a very proggy mid-section that could be lifted from the Danish band Beyond Twilight.

The absolute highlight is The Day the Earth Caught Fire. It's like Queen on a date with Toto at a nightclub owned by Savatage. An extraordinary piece of music that not too many bands could have nailed.

Lions Share — Inferno

Andy Read

Lions Share released six albums between 1995 and 2009 and toured across Europe with some of the biggest names in metal. In 2017, they transitioned to a duo, with just Lars Chriss remaining on guitar and Nils Patrik Johansson (Astral Doors, Wuthering Heights) on vocals.

The pair have released a string of nineteen digital-only singles; a mix of covers and originals with guests invited to play as needed.

Inferno marks the band's first full-length studio album in 17 years. As a comeback album from a band I enjoyed back in the day, I was intrigued as to what they would deliver in terms of style and quality.

On this album the pair are joined by bassist Andy Loos, keyboards are credited to Kay Backlund, and the drums to Fredrik Johansson. I believe this is the live set-up as well.

Speaking on this album's release, Lars Chriss explained: “For us Inferno is more than just a new album, it's a statement. We've spent years writing, refining, and pushing ourselves. This is the album where everything fell into place.”

Co-songwriter Johansson added: "Taking 17 years between albums wasn't the plan, but this album has the attitude, the hooks, the power... Everything that made us fall in love with heavy metal in the first place."

And that's exactly what you need to know about Inferno; it's an enjoyable collection of nine melodic metal anthems. Most of the songs are straight to the point and are built around a solid riff and a memorable hook. There is nothing here you haven't heard many times before, especially if, like me, you have enjoyed Johansson's work with Astral Doors. I know he is a bit too close to Dio for some people's tastes, but I've always liked his voice and energy.

Only two tracks pass the five-minute mark. They are the ones I enjoy the most, as they allow the songs to stretch out a bit; giving a bit of variety. I'd like to hear more of that if this comeback is here to stay for a while.

Fans of melodic metal will enjoy this. Those who seek some progressive intent in their music would be far better checking out Fall From Grace.

Nektar — Fortyfied

Mark Hughes

Reissue of the live album originally recorded in 2008 as a celebration of Nektar's fortieth anniversary, although it has to be noted that for half of that period the band, in any of its various line-ups, was not active. The original release was only briefly available on the short-lived Treacle Music label set up by guitarist and vocalist Roye Albrighton and has been unavailable for many years.

The line-up at this time featured one other original member alongside Albrighton, namely drummer Ron Howard, alongside two recent recruits, bassist Peter Pichl and keyboard player Klaus Henatsch, who both joined the ranks in 2007 and had appeared on the most recent studio album Book Of Days. Henatsch had been a member of German band Jane, contemporaries of the original Nektar, and, somewhat controversially, in 2018 released an album under the name New Nektar, although some legitimacy was given by the group featuring Albrighton's son on drums. Pichl is more of a session musician flitting across genres, initially with jazz-fusion bands and then into a heavier arena even providing bass on an album by UFO.

Nektar have been well served by live albums, there must be 18 or 19 concert recordings officially released over the years. Looking at the track listings of these releases it can be seen that certain songs are more than likely to make an appearance including A Day In The Life Of A Preacher, Desolation Valley, at least some part of Remember The Future and King Of Twilight all of which have appeared on 14 or more previous live albums. More than likely to appear are Recycled, A Tab In The Ocean and Crying In The Dark. However, I suppose the inclusion of these tracks on Fortyfied can be forgiven, after all as it is a celebration of the band's lengthy tenure and so the most popular tracks are what would be expected by the audience.

It is just as pertinent to note that other 'classic' songs, such as Good Day, 1-2-3-4 and Fidgety Queen, were not present in the set list, well they had to make room for at least some more recent material: Doctor Kool, King Of The Deep, and Where Are You Now? were all from the latest album and the only songs that were written since the band's reformation in 2000.

The recording quality is excellent and the band are very tight. Henatsch provides some great organ work fully replicating the sounds employed on the early seventies classic such as A Tab In The Ocean and Remember The Future. Despite being only a couple of years away from pensionable age, Howden is unflagging, providing a steady and uncomplicated backbeat with a minimum of thrills, which is entirely appropriate for the Nektar sound.

Albrighton is, of course, the focus as singer and guitarist, and in the latter role, he can't be faulted. His vocals are rather strained throughout, almost sounding like he is suffering from a throat infection or something, although it is probably the ravages of time, as suggested by a greater degree of backing vocals on the new tacks. Speaking of which, they all fit nicely in the Nektar catalogue, maintaining the original sonic aspects of the band much better than some of the songs that appeared on Magic Is A Child (1977) or Man In The Moon (1980). Indeed Book Of Days is a solid album worthy of attention.

There are other Nektar live albums that are certainly better than Fortyfied and there are also some that are worse (Live From The Wildey Theatre for example), but overall this is a decent enough performance and recording that does the band's reputation no harm. It is certainly good to have it available again particularly for the absolutely wonderful version of A Day In The Life Of A Preacher and Pichl's bass solo on Mr. H!

Paradox Of Progress — Crossing The Distance

Jan Buddenberg

The two members of Paradox of Progress, Ari Vilmunen (synths) and Juha Koiste (guitars, bass, drum programming), have a mission: to create tunes of inimitable awesomeness, probe into emotions that ebb and flow like ocean waves, and stuff their music with unusual time signatures as much as possible without disturbance of the space-time continuum as we know it.

A mission impossible? Let's find out as we take an enigmatic cruise through their debut album Crossing The Distance.

What immediately stands out in the opening song Wayfarer On A Trail Of Stars is the truly impressive teamwork and interplay between the two gentlemen. As is the instrumental control and the peerlessly flowing arrangements of the song which offers perpetually shifting moods that effortlessly glides back and forth between dynamic rock, complex prog textures, refreshing synths, and ambient passages. Exhibiting an extensive range of influences that range from 70s prog to modern prog metal, which foremost brings Flame Drop and Baris Dai to mind, the stream of melodies gravitates off into the distance on the soothing sounds of classical piano from guest Jarkko Lahti to satisfying fulfilment of the mission's first part.

The duo continues to impress in the equally beautiful Across The Aeons. At first it reminds me of Grobschnitt's magnum opus Solar Music. This composition features a wonderful arrangement of exceptional emotional playing and gracefully flowing guitar workouts where, alongside impressions of Windchase and Sebastian Hardie, memories of Flame Drop shine through once again. Contrary to the latter, Paradox Of Progress do program their drum patterns and have no visual material to accompany their songs as of yet. However, this is of no consequence, as the moving melodies created by Koiste's guitar endlessly strike the imagination in exactly the same alluring way.

With the second phase of their mission now completed, the gents then pull out all the stops in the epic closing track The Journey Into... to also achieve the third stage of their quest.

Fuelling the mind with recollections of Haken, Kansas, Genesis, Hackberry, Rush, Solaris, Majesty, Agropelter, Pink Floyd, Triton Project, and many others over its almighty 32 marvelling minutes, this pièce de resistance / tour-de-force / monumental prog beast (take your pick) opens in overwhelming Transatlantic way, with spirited deliveries, where synth spectaculars scintillatingly evoke thoughts of the Argentinian symphonic prog band Quásar. It continues with a powerful explosion of polyrhythmic dynamics, spectacular melodies, and a soothing bridge of passionate Spanish acoustics, which mounts into a symphonic soundscape featuring tantalising synths and soaring guitar virtuosity that will firmly charm many a fan of all things Portnoy. An additional fifteen minutes of phenomenal musicianship follows. Thrilling scenic changes, glowing transitions, tranquillising ambient intermissions, epic riffs, and exciting prog-metal in spirit of Dream Theater and Symphony X, where one can find as many odd-time signatures as there are stars in the sky. After countless appealing musical wanderings, this amazing composition returns to its symphonic starting point where guitar ends it all on an extremely satisfying final chord.

I am not sure if this debut album by Paradox of Progress really hasn't influenced our space-time continuum. Because every time I listened to the album, I completely lost track of time. In fact, its playing time of over 50 minutes felt more like a spectacular, intense rush that lasted five to ten minutes at most. Apart from that, I would say: mission accomplished!

All in all Crossing The Distance comes highly recommended. It's melodic. It's complex. It's indulgent. It's exciting. It's compelling. It's addictive. It's hypnotising. It's uniquely familiar. It's adventurous. It's entertaining. It's dreamy. It's massively enjoyable from start to finish. It's jam-packed with progressive treats, It's... well, you get the picture.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it after all of the above, is to hunt down a copy and start your own quest towards discovery of the deeply rewarding beauty that lies within this stunning debut album. Here's hoping that many more sequels will follow!

Spirergy — Wherever Forever

Thomas Otten

Wherever Forever is the third release of Hoylake, Wirrel-based multi-instrumentalist (acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, bass, and drums), vocalist, and composer Dave Allen. The album follows Aeon, released in 2023, and Journey Beyond from 2024. As on his previous releases, Dave is responsible for all the instruments, lyrics, vocals, and arrangements, but has, unlike on his first two albums, which were self-produced, entrusted Colin McKay with the duties of sound engineer. Besides releasing under the name Spirergy (the title of a sci-fi novel written by Dave and a play on words by Spiral and Energy), Dave has teamed up with fellow multi-instrumentalist Colin Powell (of A Multitude Of One, the music of which bears some similarities to the one of Spirergy), releasing two albums as the project Riffstone.

I had the pleasure to review Spirergy's first release for our site, and, having made up my mind on Wherever Forever, I went through what I had written on Aeon back then. I must confess that, at the very first moment, I was tempted to do this report more or less as a "copy & paste"- version of my previous one. Repetitive spins, however, quickly dissuaded me from this, never realistically envisaged, option. It would not have done justice to the high quality of Wherever Forever and would have overlooked the fact that Spirergy has evolved musically over time.

Before exploring a bit more in detail what this translates to, let's have a brief look at the narrative of this album. With respect to the lyrics, Wherever Forever addresses themes of human conflict, innocence, hope, cosmic journeys, and the human condition. According to the electronic press kit coming with the release, the lyrics of "the initial five tracks are a direct reflection on the devastating effects of war and conflict on innocent people, viewing the global suffering that results when ordinary lives become collateral damage in the games of despots. The remaining tracks explore universal human experiences — the constancy of nature, the struggle of insomnia, and the ultimate search for survival and peace in a boundless universe: the feeling of going wherever forever." And what about the music?

Let's do a little "copy and paste" after all, because Dave still is quoted with the statement: "The music derives from many different influences including bands and artists from the early 1970s through to the present day. I've taken inspiration from groups with distinctive styles, ambitious compositions, experimentation, concept-driven lyrics, and musical virtuosity."

Well, these influencing factors describe some of the key elements of progressive rock altogether and thus apply to most of the prog bands in one way or another. Hence, when classifying Spirergy's music, I cannot get around using the "official" terms symphonic, neo, and retro prog, although I find them a bit hackneyed and not very precise, as they overlap to some extent. Having said that, why not simply let a description of the music speak for itself and forget about a pigeonholing?

Composed sounding song structures, abundance of keyboards both as soloing instruments and to provide walls of sound, catchy melodies, virtuosity, but no over-complexity, emotional songwriting, melodic guitar and keyboard soloing, lyrics covering fantasy and social themes on the one hand. A mixture of analogue and digital instruments, complex time signatures, variedness, changes of softer and harder parts, breaks, longtracks on the other. Plus, a tendency towards symphonic song structures with emphasis on melodies, and an orchestral sound using various keyboard layers. Spirergy's music offers all of that, some more, some less.

To my ears, Wherever Forever, compared to its predecessors, sounds more like the musical output of an entire band than of the one by "just" an individual musician. Maybe the involvement of a professional sound engineer has contributed to that phenomenon. With respect to the mixing, something that I commented on in my review of Aeon, I found the sound to be very well-balanced. The use of the bass guitar (crisp and dynamic – Chris Squire would have loved it) as both a rhythm and a solo instrument (especially on Carry Me Home, and In The Small Hours) is brought out very well thanks to the meticulous production. Keyboards enjoy a strong emphasis but perfectly interact with the guitar. Drums come across more punchy especially as on Aeon, although sometimes they sound a bit programmed to my ears (the photo of Dave's studio shows an electronic drum set, though). For my hearing (which certainly hasn't improved since I reviewed Aeon three years ago), I still would have liked a bit more intensity and a stronger emphasis of the drums.

With a running time of 71 minutes, Wherever Forever is quite a long album. However, Dave doesn't run out of steam musically and manages to maintain the tension right through to the final epic track – that's no mean feat! He does that by means of variedness, and a combination of complexity and accessibility. All the songs show the same quality, I did not depict a single dull moment in the music. My favourites ("primi inter pares" so to say) are the opener Innocent Hearts due to its dynamic bass playing and the versatile keyboards, Carry Me Home with its upbeat mood (a song of hope and life-saving comradeship) and a great jazzy piano interplay (it has a bit of a Moon Safari-vibe, this one) and In The Small Hours because of its catchy melodies.

This review must end with some "FFO" band name dropping. Yes during their eighties period (also because of Dave's singing style), Marillion (at their beginnings), Different Light, Pendragon, and Comedy Of Errors (my favourite neo-prog band), to name a few. But also, later representatives of a comparable genre such as Collage, Pinn Drop, Submarine Silence, Leap Day, Drifting Sun, Retreat From Moscow. In addition, reminiscences of the music of peers from the retro-prog side, namely Spocks Beard, and Neil Morse Band, albeit in a bit more straightforward way, cannot be denied.

I very much liked Spirergy's music on Wherever Forever, which marks a positive development in Dave's musical career in my opinion. It is varied, challenging, complex, yet accessible, with strong melodies and it is the outcome of a single artist's musical ideas and abilities - something that always had and always will have my full respect. It would be interesting to see and hear this music being performed live. Putting a band together seems to be on Dave's bucket list but is nothing concrete. So, we'll just have to make do with waiting for the successor, which hopefully will be released in the not too distant future.