{"id":82,"date":"2009-10-23T10:22:33","date_gmt":"2009-10-23T15:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=82"},"modified":"2022-07-12T11:17:58","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T15:17:58","slug":"album-review-knight-area-realm-of-shadows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2009\/10\/23\/album-review-knight-area-realm-of-shadows\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Knight Area – Realm of Shadows"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"KnightHow come the most interesting sounds in modern progressive rock are coming from the continent? While the USA has Dream Theater<\/strong>, far more fascinating acts from the UK and Europe are turning out compelling music that flies in the face of “prog is long past its sell-by date” conventional wisdom arguments. The latest case in point: Dutch quintet (formerly anything from a one-man project to a nine-piece) Knight Area<\/strong>. Their Realm of Shadows<\/em> — released October 2009 — shows that there’s plenty of life left in the oft-maligned genre. Yes, the cover art is spooky, monochromatic and foreboding. But open the jewel case, pop out the disc and you’ll see something a bit jarring: the photos of the band members. Two of the guys are wearing broad smiles, and the other three don’t have that dour who-peed-in-my-cornflakes look, either. Something’s amiss! Might Knight Area subscribe to the idea that prog need not be self-important to be worthwhile? The sonic evidence strongly suggests that’s the case.<\/p>\n

The intro “Antagony” sounds like something classic-lineup Asia <\/strong>would have done. And — I actually mean this in a good way — the insistent beat in sections of the song brings to mind Journey<\/strong>‘s “Separate Ways”. All the hallmarks of progressive rock are evident on Realm of Shadows<\/em>: you’ll get your meter changes, your Mellotron, your conceptual story line. But all of those elements are applied judiciously. Unlike garden-variety prog, the results aren’t overwrought.<\/p>\n

The punchy bass lines of Gijs Koopman betray a strong affinity for the style of Yes’ Chris Squire<\/strong>; in most rock subgenres, having a bassist play like a (frustrated) lead guitarist end up being a detriment. In this case it works quite well, adding an additional melody line of sorts to the music. Vocalist Mark Smit has a pleasing voice; it’s a bit like Geddy Lee<\/strong> without that Donald Duck-on-helium quiver, and Smit manages to convey emotion without going (on one hand) thuggish or (on the other) over the top.<\/p>\n

The nimble and lyrical keyboardist Kerben Klazinga makes what to this listener is a most unusual sonic choice: the piano tones on the sweeping album opener “Ethereal” are unmistakably that of the very 80s-sounding Yamaha CP70 digital piano. So while the music isn’t tied to that era, the piano sound is. Judging from the music palette applied to the album as a whole, it was a conscious decision, not a case of this-is-all-we-got.<\/p>\n

I’ve heard Knight Area compared to Dream Theater, but I don’t hear it. (and if you’ve read my concert review of a DT show<\/a>, you’ll understand that I’m glad I don’t.) I do hear hints of Gabriel<\/strong>-era Genesis<\/strong>, a bit of Kansas<\/strong>. Strong melodies abound, and prog-metal screaming is delightfully absent. Analog solo-note synthesizer lines are effectively used as a lead instrument throughout, but there’s plenty of guitar pyrotechnics courtesy of Mark Vermeule.<\/p>\n

And in a radical move that might threaten to get Knight Area’s prog license revoked, the band delivers two songs that clock in at well under three minutes each. The eleven-plus minute album closer “Occlusion” offsets things. “Occlusion” opens like something from a Lord of the Rings<\/em>-style soundtrack, and unfolds slowly; hints of Grobschnitt <\/strong>crop up here and there. There’s even a brief country-styled lick that sounds like pedal steel guitar; surprisingly, it works, and leads right into a majestic synthesizer solo laid carefully atop a Mellotron choir. The final minute of Realm of Shadows<\/em> is all atmospherics; it’s evocative of the band finishing a concert and descending into the mists like some Nordic spectres. Effective stuff; if your player is set on repeat, the opening of “Ethereal” features a snippet of those sounds, creating a cyclical effect. Done before? Sure. But if it works, it works.<\/p>\n

The album art suggests a dark journey, and certainly the lyrics deal with the usual prog tropes (quests, the unknown, tears) but this is musically pretty upbeat stuff. These must be some pretty well-adjusted guys: when Knight Area takes a leaf from the gospel according to King Crimson<\/strong>, they manage to do it without going all humorless.<\/p>\n

While the song structures and instrumentation are quite classicist, the production is very contemporary (especially the thunderous bass lines on tracks like “Dark Souls”). Realm of Shadows<\/em> strikes a delicate balance between sweet melodies (the kind that wouldn’t be totally out of place on an album like Styx<\/strong>‘s Equinox<\/em>) and bone-crushing Moog Taurus lines that threaten to loosen the listener’s dental fillings. The playing is expert but not showy; one gets the sense that the guys in Knight Area are comfortable enough with their abilities so that they don’t feel the need to go all look-what-we-can-do on the hapless listener who merely wants a good prog melody.<\/p>\n

In that sense and many others, Realm of Shadows<\/em> delivers. Serving up lovely songs delivered with grace and power, Knight Area is a band to watch.<\/p>\n

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