Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Galahad
Label: Avalon Records
Release: 2018
Length: 42:43
Rating: 5/5
Galahad, those battle-hardened neo-prog champions, ran into an awkward situation in 2015. Their longtime guitarist Roy Keyworth practically overnight cut off all communication with the rest of the band. It was only months later that they found out their former buddy had decided to retire from music, without even bothering to tell them properly. Keyworth’s shabby move didn’t demoralize them too much, though, because for the acoustic-ballad album »Quiet Storms« (2017) they brought in none other than longtime Galahad producer Karl Groom of prog-metal heavyweights Threshold as a temporary guest guitarist. Once it was clear that Groom’s stint was only temporary, they found their permanent guitarist in former bassist Lee Abraham, who has obviously found his feet in the new role, because Galahad’s new studio effort »Seas of Change« is a downright masterpiece, right up there with the very best Galahad albums.
The album, built around a dystopian concept about the collapse of an oppressive, isolationist regime inspired by the recent Brexit, consists of one single epic composition more than 40 minutes long. Thanks to the complex nature of most of the arrangements, the constant mood shifts and the final message, it may well be the most ambitious creation in the Galahad story so far. After two excellent studio albums in a single year, »Battle Scars« and »Beyond the Realms of Euphoria« (both from 2012), it seemed Galahad would have a hard time pulling off another achievement of that caliber, but in the meantime, for »Seas of Change«, they took plenty of time to develop interesting new ideas, and those ideas have borne rich fruit.
Stylistically, you can hear a return to some of Galahad’s early, more symphonic and pastoral sonic roots in the individual »Seas of Change« arrangements, even though more modern influences creep in now and then, led by trance elements on the keyboards and prog-metal-based electric guitar passages. The charismatic singer Stuart Nicholson, the only original member, is the one who ties it all together and ‘tells’ the tense story with his dramatic approach, while rich, mostly symphonic harmonies and branching rhythmic cascades trade places, occasionally joined by eclectic guitar wizardry courtesy of Lee Abraham. All of this means it’s a record that will surely go down well with every generation of Galahad fans. As bonus tracks, the limited edition of »Seas of Change« also includes »Dust« and »Smoke«, which are shortened segments of the epic title suite.
With »Seas of Change«, a masterpiece of outstanding ambient dimensions that sails stylishly between their early and modern approaches, Galahad have once again made it clear that for a few years now they’ve belonged in the ‘premier league’ of neo-progressive rock. One of the better neo-prog achievements of 2018, it’s a triumphant return for a band that has been written off more than once, even though over the last ten years, specifically since the release of the album »Empires Never Last« (2007), they’ve been going through a real creative renaissance, and the quality of their recent output puts them shoulder to shoulder with better-known neo-prog peers like Arena, IQ, Pendragon and Pallas.
Line-up
Stuart Nicholson – vocals
Lee Abraham – guitar
Mark Spencer – bass guitar
Dean Baker – keyboards, orchestration
Spencer Luckman – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Sarah Bolter – flute, clarinet, soprano saxophone
Production
Karl Groom
Track list
1. Seas of Change (42:43) :
– I. Storms are a Comin’
– II. Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen
– III. The Great Unknown
– IV. Sea of Uncertainty
– V. Up in Smoke
– VI. A Sense of Revolution
– VII. Dust
– VIII. ‘Tis but a Dream
– IX. As Time Fades
– X. Mare’s Nest
– XI. The Greater Unknown
– XII. Storms are a Comin’ (Reprise)
Bonus tracks:
2. Dust (extended edit) (5:57)
3. Smoke (extended edit) (7:14)
