Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Galahad
Label: Avalon Records
Release: 1991
Length: 56:43
Rating: 3/5
In English legend, Galahad was the knight of King Arthur’s Round Table who was granted a vision of the Holy Grail, the miraculous chalice filled with the blood of Christ, which Joseph of Arimathea supposedly carried to the British Isles. In the original legend, Sir Bors and Sir Percival saw it too, but later on Galahad alone was the noblest knight of them all, the one who received the greatest honor medieval legend had to offer. In modern times, Galahad ‘lent’ its name to an English band from the second wave of progressive rock. They only showed up in 1985, a little late to the party, when kindred acts like Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas and Twelfth Night were already well-established names.
At first, Galahad, who got going in 1985, mostly played the support-act role and didn’t harbor any grand ambitions, but by 1991, when they put out their debut »Nothing Is Written«, they’d figured out they were actually no worse musicians than the members of the more notorious neo-prog heavyweights. That’s when they finally crossed over into the pro ranks and started to ‘ripen’ into serious songwriters. Early in their career, as you can plainly hear on most of the »Nothing Is Written« tracks, Galahad took a musical approach similar to the better-known bands mentioned above, with one important difference: at the start of the nineties they updated their synth tech and production and convincingly moved it away from the eighties. The production is also the weakest side of »Nothing Is Written«, since it sounds pretty thin, which really shows in the underpowered, undefined drum sound of Spencer Luckman.
On top of that, these big fans of (classic) Genesis always cultivated a slightly grittier approach than most neo-prog bands, with some of Roy Keyworth’s guitar phrases bordering on hard rock, something that only intensified on their later albums. Singer Stuart Nicholson had a voice charismatic and different enough from other neo-prog vocalists to give Galahad a big dose of identity. Despite some vocal similarities to Fish (ex-Marillion) and Peter Nicholls (IQ), he made enough of an effort to sound distinct. Even though they were quite talented musicians and writers of interesting arrangements, they matured gradually as songwriters, and to this day they’ve remained a fairly obscure but cult band with a small yet loyal base of followers.
»Face To The Sun«, a very decent album opener, features interesting ambient flourishes that, on the wings of clever guitar improvisation and subtle synth textures, gradually spread a pervasive enigmatic atmosphere. Nicholson’s theatrical vocals drive up the drama, and with the first time change the song swerves into a spirited section with bristling guitar passages. Keyworth proves with some neat guitar improvisations that he was already an excellent guitarist back then, while the two keyboardists who played on this album, Mark Andrews and Karl Garrett, were already pretty shrewd creators of grand symphonic arrangements right from Galahad’s early days.
On »Chamber Of Horrors« you can also hear some melodic bass lines from Tim Ashton, which the band uses to lay a solid foundation for weaving a mysterious, tense mood, with Nicholson’s melodramatic vocal approach playing the key role. »Evaporation« is a melancholic ballad where Nicholson, backed by refined piano arrangements, proves himself a master at conveying touching emotion. »Motherland« is a dynamic piece with lively rhythmic nuances, combative guitar passages and layered synth textures, while Nicholson once again transforms into a theatrical and sensitive ‘storyteller’ of socially critical tales. In the closing section, when the ‘smeared’ guitar passages kick in, they’re swept back into somewhat grittier waters for a short while. »Room 801« sounds almost retro thanks to its use of new-wave synth curtains, and overall it’s one of the few songs on the album whose pulse pulls toward eighties neo-prog production, while the chorus and the melodramatic plot twist are a bit reminiscent of the Marillion classic »He Knows You Know«.
One of the more picturesque moments on »Nothing Is Written« is the EP-length epic »Aqaba (A Matter Of Going!)«, steeped in an oriental atmosphere, where Keyworth plays a few Arabic scales on electric guitar while a majestic symphonic backdrop supports him on keyboards. The historical struggle between the Saracens and the Crusaders over Aqaba, an important Jordanian port city, is vividly described through Nicholson’s singing, while the keyboardist shows off with a generous helping of dramatic organ and synth passages.
»Bark In D Minor« is a short organ instrumental with a sacred mood that serves as a sort of intro to the song »Legacy«. That’s another example of a classic neo-prog track, where Galahad intelligently build a tense atmosphere through layered symphonic textures, theatrical singing and dramatic twists, so you’re never bored. »The Atomaton« is a distinctly melodic piece where Galahad even toy with a few AOR elements, so the commercially minded chorus with its polished arrangements comes as no surprise. Galahad were always one of the most melody-driven neo-prog bands, so on that front there was no big surprise.
»Don’t Lose Control« is a slightly ‘sugary’, piano-driven love ballad that would suit some melodic rock band better than Galahad, though it has a splendid offering of symphonic arrangements alongside a very good vocal performance from Nicholson. The title of best song on the album, though, goes to the closing, ambitious symphonic prog epic »Richelieu’s Prayer«, where they layered sacred organ textures in an interesting way and so indirectly conjured up a baroque atmosphere fitting the historical image of the last prayer of the notorious Cardinal Richelieu, the skilled manipulator and chief villain of Dumas’s Three Musketeers stories, even though the song’s lyrics, with their pacifist message, have no real connection to him. An elegiac, piano-driven intro is followed by a dramatic swerve into a combative section commanded by Nicholson’s furious vocals, while melodic guitar variations over the sacred organ build a majestic mood. Bringing in church organs was undoubtedly a clever idea and the most innovative move on the whole album.
Galahad may not have been among the most ambitious names on the British neo-prog scene, but with »Nothing Is Written« they delivered a solid debut, held back mainly by its weak production. You couldn’t possibly accuse the band of lacking interesting songwriting ideas, though »Richelieu’s Prayer«, »Aqaba« and maybe »Face To The Sun« were the only compositions on the album that stood out in quality and atmospheric depth from the solid but average run of »Nothing Is Written« tracks. Either way, the members of Galahad had guts to put out their debut in practically impossible circumstances, with the second wave of (British) progressive rock already over and interest in this kind of music at a pretty low ebb.
Line-up
Stuart Nicholson – vocals
Roy Keyworth – guitar
Spencer Luckman – drums
Karl Garrett – keyboards
Mark Andrews – keyboards
Neil Pepper – bass guitar
Tim Ashton – bass guitar
Production
Steve Darrell Smith, Neal Smith and Galahad
Track list
1. Face To The Sun (7:58)
2. Chamber Of Horrors (5:23)
3. Evaporation (6:37)
4. Motherland (6:58)
5. Room 801 (7:00)
6. Aqaba (A Matter Of Going) (5:33)
7. Bark In D-Minor (0:45)
8. The Automaton (4:33)
9. Don’t Lose Control (5:33)
10. Richelieu’s Prayer (8:23)
