IN OUR NATURE

Swedish band from Uppsala, no wonder, because Hidden Lands are an offshoot project of Violent Silence, keyboardist/guitarist Hannes Ljunghall, keyboardist Bjorn Westen, singer Bruno Edling and bassist Phillip Bastin are all members of Violent Silence and the only change comes behind the drum kit, where Gustav Nyber is responsible for the drumming.The band announced its formation in 2012 and later in the year they released their debut ''In our nature'', distributed via Progress Records.

As with VIOLENT SILENCE, the music of Hidden Lands is fairly keyboard-dominated, but this time the approach is a bit more melodic, atmospheric and symphonic with stronger links to the 70's and yet another impressive palette of different keyboard colors.Same thing with the main band of the involved members, the music appears to be an original and melodic Symphonic Rock with occasional jazzy and electronic injections, but the result is pretty genuine and nothing like you have heard before.Actually the only comparison could be British veterans CITIZEN CAIN, the material has evident ties with Classic Prog, but there are more than enough twists and turns both in the arrangements and styles to easily classify the band.Six long tracks with some GENESIS influences in a more Symphonic/Fusion enviroment, retaining the smooth and romantic atmosphere of the legends, but also breaking into more emphatic territories with great vocals and complex keyboard instrumentals, characterized by the powerful bass lines and the lovely switches on analog and modern keyboards.They kind of remind me also of NATHAN MAHL and HOLDING PATTERN at times, good display of Classical interludes, laid-back symphonic soundscapes but also trickier keyboard leads, moreover when they come in double doses.In certain moments they sink also in a world of more experimental offerings with the loops and vibraphone coming in the forefront, but the dominant principles come definitely from the Classic Prog school and the mood for elaborate and lush keyboard-centered orchestrations.

Good debut by one of the most personal-sounding bands of the recent Prog era.Balanced Neo/Symphonic Prog with keyboards in evidence and spices from Electronic Music and Jazz Fusion.Warmly recommended.