[Starting this I should say that this is not a new release, but I discovered it recently. Also, because I believe that many people have no idea about this band or this album yet, I added it under the "New Releases" category].
Superhuman is
the debut album of the UK-based Neo Prog band Section IV. And what a debut it
is! 70 minutes of really beautiful and melodic modern Progressive Rock, with
good production and a very good sound. The band seems perfectly tuned, and
their musical skills are without a question very high.
Let’s take a
closer look, shall we?
‘Superhuman’
includes 9 songs, and has a running time of almost 70 minutes. Most of the
songs are between 4 and 8 minutes long, with 2 exceptions: The opening and the
closing song.
The album begins with the – almost 13 minute long - Superhuman, which is a perfect example of how modern Progressive Rock should be played;
with numerous twists throughout the song, very characteristic keys, and killer
guitar riffs from time to time. Some very clever and impressive sound effects render
the song wholesome. Needless to say that
Superhuman is one of my favorite songs here.
The next song ‘Out
of the Dark’ begins with an impressive car accident, and continues with a
gentle melody played in piano. The song evolves as it becomes more intense and
more instruments join, but it doesn’t move far from its melodic main line.
‘In Danger’
begins with a Galahad-like synth intro, but when the guitar enters it changes
totally, and comes closer to the band’s sound.
‘Inside’ is
a melodic ballad, but it doesn’t add something to the album, and it’s followed
by another impressive song named ‘So Far
Away’. Nice and powerful guitar riffs, and some audio effects once more. ’So Far Away’ is connected with ‘Idwtstwt’ which I have no idea what it
means. Another fast-paced and kind of powerful song. Next comes ‘Guiding Light’ which is also connected
with ’Idwtswt’, and it is almost in
the same style with the 2 previous songs.
‘Take you Down’
is a powerful song with strong guitars, many changes, and some surprisingly
good effects that I really loved. (Like for example the change in 3:15, with
the piano and the slow guitar solo); another favorite of mine from the album.
And we reach ‘Exile’
which can be characterized as the album’s “epic” song. With a length of almost
16 minutes, and so many twists that I lost count, is the most impressive and
musically interesting song, and the best way to close the album. After
listening to the album lots of times, I still can’t decide if Superhuman or Exile is the most impressive song here, so I’ll have to pick both I
guess.
So far I wrote
about the compositions, the sound effects, the nice changes in the songs, the
very good guitar riffs etc, but I haven’t said a word about the very talented
singer. He fits perfectly in the band’s sound, and his vocal skills and overall
performance is raising the band to a whole other level.
As for the band’s influences, I’m not sure to be
honest. There are some small parts that remind me of Galahad, some others that
sound like IQ or Pendragon a little bit, but the overall outcome sounds rather
unique.
Concluding this, I have to say that this album is a
MUST for the fans of Neo Prog scene, and for all those who can enjoy a really
good & well-built Progressive Rock album.
If I had to
rate it, I would give a minimum of 3.5 out of 5.0 stars
By clicking on the following link you will be able to listen to the song 'Take You Down' in order to get a small idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17rS_VymNjM
Hello all!
