By far the best album in prog world, since victory Evens "The Art of Navigating ..."

Let's start with state of prog music, and what a lot of the "Prog" understand. Everyone is different, of course. Some Prog fans are teenagers, some Althasen. Some are of sweep arpeggios, polyrhythms ... very quickly impressed, some just not as fast. I as an ex-musician personally belong now to the latter groups, among others, am a Prog Metal fan since 80s. I * was * a DT fan since 1989-90, long before Images and Words came out and Prog Metal for many a household name was. In whom I am "Images and Words" and "Parallels" bought at the same time and first heard about the day I will never forget !!! When I'm left out leaving everything of Devin Townsend and Ozric Tentacles playing in their own "Prog" leagues unchallenged all alone, I have this positive surprise and euphoria, even after repeated countless times listening for Prog Metal since that day, including . Headspace only 4! Times be able to experience again. The common denominator was always: mature music that sometimes intricate harmonies, rhythms and structures needed To unpack their elegance.

Unfortunately nowadays focus Prog bands virtuosity and vocal acrobatics, instead musicality. "Prog" and "Wankery" are often mentioned in the same sentence to right. Since the mid-90s I find DT as top dog, their clones, and all these bands that can quickly "Prog Metal Something" means simply boring. Not "easy", but "simply boring". As for purely technical skills, mathematical games of hide, Max Touch-per-second madness, which have Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Frank Zappa, etc. done everything already 30, 40 years ago, a lot of creative, musical and technically better than Progger it still can not today. Tech, Math, Djent bands have also all Progger, despite their oh-so-virtuous GIT / PIT / Juilliard / Berklee Alumnat crews long outdated. But even that's not what I want to enjoy the music: Etudes recordings and reef Flick works for studying. No, from the naive age I'm out. Tempo changes, long songs and especially virtuosity are only a means to express themselves limitless, not the purpose of the exercise. This error is best seen in DTs decision for Mangini: a hochkaratiger technicians to none matched ... but just not a visionary like Portnoy. Ironic: Mangini is itself a small, Italian virtuoso / stunt drummer and has played with the original; perhaps thought DT, which is the magic formula for good music. (Who recognizes the swipe it, we will say hello to :) I was so glad that Jarzombek, one of the most creative and best drummers of our time, was canceled, otherwise I would have to listen to me again DT that sound just as cheap and emotionless as their own clones , Too Bad. She had I angegöttert!

Enough babbling and gebasht. Now we come to headspace and their place in this supersaturated Prog scene with a few courageous bands. Do they have a chance?

Yes, and how! Head Spaces debut album is by no means a typical prog album, how to understand generously Prog. It is neither too simple-knitted in Prog standards, no matter how you set, nor too complicated for headbanging. As musicians are the masters of headspace no newcomers with their instruments, since all have their full-time bands (Damien Rinaldi, Pomeroy) or jobs as a studio musician (Brook, Wakeman). So do not underestimate their abilities only, they can compete with the best of prog musicians. But they are holding back pleasant when the music needs more air and rest. There are virtually no touch which acts obsolete. Colleagues know how to get people really rocks your socks off!

The best comparison with the "4 ong secret" albums would in my opinion the victory Evens magnum opus "The Art of Navigating by the Stars", what my attitude towards modern Prog changed deeply. The music is similar to TAoNbtS times rocky, especially in Head Spaces case even really heavy, sometimes calm and soulful, sometimes dominated by intricate polyrhythms, Unison solos and multiple layers of vocal melodies, but * never * aimlessly and * never * for the sake of virtuosity , The songs all have their own character and change the mood and tempo times abruptly, sometimes gently, but it just all fits together like puzzle pieces. All the music is always in the foreground. I did not think that any other band to victory Evens monumental album that in similar overlong songs (8+ min.) Could hammer out exactly as skilled as she, but Headspace has managed my to meet the same high demands on complexity and musicality , Last but not least, I am not a big fan but here Threshold deserves Damien Wilson explicitly outspoken praise! My goodness, the man has golden voice tapes and know how to adjust the music! Finally a Prog singer who does not try all the time to keep 10 seconds a C5. No, they are real musicians and artists, not instrumentalists.

How it looks with the texts that underestimate the non-native speakers often ignore even completely? Finally, well-written texts bands like Rush have carried by giant status to legendary status, is not it? Here texts definitely do not miss. It is by and large a concept album with anti-military subtexts and deals with all war-related topics such as aversion and powerlessness in the face of war, destruction, love, death, conscience, end of idealism, resignation, hopelessness. The texts are therefore very gloomy, pessimistic, emotional and even humanistic. According Headspace some songs were from their talks with Iraq Veterans her inspiration (take that Geoff Tate FU, this is how you do it right!). Only when you concentrate on the text, one understands why the music of a passage to another so flows, how it does it. These are not a few in the end it clapped words, the lyrics are quite obviously been a centerpiece from the outset. When Prog veteran Damien Wilson creates the complex feelings of these soldiers and victims in his view, to interpret grandiös. His expression is one of the greatest strengths of this album. But I said deliberately, "Wilson interpreting". Instead of providing answers, indirect questions from the perspective of a soldier are here often asked who should represent each, in order to better understand themselves and other people's psyche. The answers to these questions is more difficult when you look at the album as a whole, rather than individual pieces. That's exactly what headspace of us want in return and involvement in their music.

I think the whole album after several hundreds times listening simply spectacular, it just gets better actually after every time, you always discover small subtleties. That's why I find it really hard to name a single introductory song or an album highlight, but if you would have held a gun to my head ... ... then I would still say "I can not bear, all of which are perfect." Believe me, you will love Soldier just as The Big Day, or fall of America as invasion. My favorite song is always the one I'm listening to, as is the case with all of my favorite albums is. Self-contained perfection.

Whether Prog fan or not, whether musicians or not, buying this album. This is real metal at its best, a sensational album for headphones, auto, home, chill out, head banging, off ... A modern masterpiece! Full 5 stars!

PS: According to her YT channel (/ headspacetheband) work the lords since 2013, a new "HS2" album!