ENGINES OF CREATION

Galleon is a band that this old proghead had never even heard of until 2014. Having been stuck in the rut of old prog feeling like there was nothing out there fresh, it wasn't until about 2009 that I climbed out from under my rock and started doing research and found out that prog had been progressing all along! I have since discovered so many bands that came into play after 1985 and some of them have been incredible to hear.

When I ran into this band I was stunned! Each album has something great to offer. After getting their entire library and hearing them over and over again I can conclude that this album for me is the last good album. "In The Wake Of The Moon" was my least favorite. I was so looking forward to another album but sadly they disbanded. Their Facebook page had them recording and laying down tracks and stating in 2015 that a new one was coming and after silence they came back and stated that they would no longer go on. A very sad day indeed.

In many ways "Engines" is my favorite album. Their previous albums were heavier on keyboards than guitars. This album has the best work by Sven Larsson! I thought at first they must have gotten a new guitarist. His solos are better than ever. So much of this album is very strong and is probably the closest thing to metal this band has done.

"A.I." comes out of the shoots as an intro with guitar at the forefront. "The Assemblers" is a well crafted track. The guitar solo is amazing and probably his best. "Signals" is a good track once again heavy on guitar. The title track is a great one with a great deal of layers transitioning from one style into another. Once again another great solo by Larsson and that collides into a great slower piece that grinds through the song's name. Cranking this one up is essential. "State Insane", "Cinnamon Highway" and "Fog City" do nothing much for me. "Men & Monsters" is a great explosive track reminiscent of a few tracks on previous albums. "Machine Mother" also rocks in the guitar arena. The last track "Lightworks" is another winner. I really appreciated the sudden drop into the hypnotic middle piece that is sandwiched between radical pieces of bread.

I have to rate this one a high 4 but a high 5 to these guys! If you want a more edgy guitar driven album this would be it.