So, Richard is back with his latest album, and as a bonus he has also included his 2011 album ‘New Worlds’ which was never actually released on CD, but was available only as a download. Now, I gave that one 4 *’s when it came out so what about this one? Well, while the cover of ‘New Worlds’ was bright and colourful (and is shown as the rear cover of the booklet, a nice touch), this one is much darker and immediately makes one think of ‘Voivode Dracula’ from 2004. So, are we in for a dark gothic progressive classical soundscape? In some ways a definitely “yes”, while in others not so much. There are times in this album when we are treated to an orchestral version of Goblin, capturing the dark cinematic essence that they are renowned for, while at others it is lighter and not nearly as oppressive and gothic (including what I can only think of as Star Trek meets 70’s cinema adverts). What I have always enjoyed about Richard’s work is his refusal to conform to what anyone thinks of his music and will not fit inside any particular musical form but instead does whatever he feels is right.
It could be argued that this isn’t progressive music, as it has much more in common with modern orchestral, yet he is using many different musical themes, instruments and mediums to create something that is layered, complex and refuses to be pigeonholed. The two albums contained in this one CD work really well together as they show different aspects of his work, and the fact that he brings in musicians to play all of the separate parts, instead of just using a synth to artificially create them, definitely gives his music a layer of class and sophistication often missing. In the past I have compared his work to Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips among others, but really he is in a place of his own design as he melds and moulds his music to be far more visual and cinematic.
This CD definitely benefits from being played on headphones, and in the evening sat on the deck looking at the stars this is definitely the perfect accompaniment.
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