HADAL SHERPA

Well, I'm going to say bravo to those who knew HADAL SHERPA, this Finnish quintet from VANTAA, before me. A band that plays somewhere between post-rock and psychedelic space rock, with strong ethnic overtones in some tracks. In short, another album that came out of nowhere but is nonetheless interesting. The eight tracks presented here are long, with the shortest clocking in at 7:20.

It starts off very strong with the two-part track "Nautilus," which clocks in at over fifteen minutes. The first half is simply superb, with, in addition to the musicians from the band, a classy flute performance that makes this piece simply essential, catchy, and ultra-melodic. It's still the guest flute player who leads the dance in the second half, a flute that obviously brings to mind that of Thijs VAN LEER, the brilliant Dutch instrumentalist from FOCUS, and which makes this second half as essential as the first, with the added bonus of a damn bouzouki (Vesa PASANEN), which isn't the most widely used instrument in progressive rock.

A change of scenery for "Chafa Azeno" and here we enter fully into the ethnic part of the album; It's impossible not to make the connection (musically, of course) with the British lunatics of OZRIC TENTACLES. Everything feels right at home here: the rhythm is devilishly Arabic, Ilja JUUTILAINEN's percussion is remarkably clear and precise, and the soloists (guitar and keyboards) brilliantly contribute to the party. This is a piece of great solidity and inventiveness despite a rather abrupt ending. With "Ikaros," which follows, it's back to square one. The ethnic side is minimalist, the inspiration probably Greek (etymologically speaking), since there's also bouzouki here, with a slightly bouncy rhythm, and once again, the excellent percussion of the aptly named Ilja and the multiple keyboards of Matti ELSINEN, simply brilliant.

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Since we're in the south of EUROPE, let's go even further southeast and to another continent with the longest track on the album, "Heracleion," an ancient city of ancient EGYPT. A return to a sober, progressive, ethnic-symphonic sound, this time driven by the devilishly furious guitars in the first half and much more Middle Eastern in the second (but still under the fire of the six strings). It's highly original but not easy to listen to given the length of the piece.

For "Marracech," we move to the same latitude but further west, a track that's completely Arab in both its title and its musical development, the one I like the least on the entire album. The nearly ten-minute "Abyss" is a tear-jerker, composed with a false symphonic rhythm that intensifies as the track progresses, punctuated by the guitars of Vesa Pasanen and Ville Kainulainen (no ethno-music here). The closing track also didn't seem very digestible to me, despite a trumpet solo (a rather rare instrument in progressive music) by Olli Rautiainen, a track made up of multiple breaks that are difficult to follow...

In conclusion, four major pieces (1/2/4/5), the rest a notch below par due to the complexity and musical niche chosen by Hadal Sherpa.

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