TALES FROM THE MAZE

This is a new and promising Swedish five piece band, their debut CD is relased by the Dutch label AMR Productions.

Haze Of Time their sound is very melodic, accessible, tasteful and alternating, between symphonic prog (mid-Genesis) and neo-prog (like IQ) with the emphasis on the latter category. The band hosts dual guitar play (lots of howling soli) and dual keyboards (flashy synthesizer flights), the English vocals are decent. The climates in the eight compositions range from dreamy with twanging guitars to mid-tempo with fiery guitar and bombastic with a heavy keyboard sound. My absolute highlight is Daydreamer: first propulsive guitar riffs and drums, then an exciting part with ominous violin-Mellotron waves, goose bumps! During the rest of this track we can enjoy sensational keyboard work and strong guitar play, from howling and fiery to a raw sound.

I enjoyed this wonderful, a bit polished but very tasteful arranged album and I am sure it will not only please the neo-prog fans but also the symphomaniacs.

I can't remember this grabbing my attention first time I listened to it. However now after numerous listens it is a firm favorite. Overall it fits well into the symphonic and Neo prog genres and would appeal to both sets of listeners, the music is melodic and varied and at times it heads towards a more metal sound with stronger riffs. Most tracks have quite long instrumental intros which is good as all the tracks except the first are quite long. Whilst several older groups influences can be heard mostly I find it contemporary Swedish and no single likeness jumps out. What jumps out is a balance between the differing instruments and at no point does anything dominate. Two tracks shine for me, track 2 "Here And Now" and track 5 "Daydreamer". The only gripe is track 1 a 39 second track that for me serves no purpose, otherwise the rest of the tracks all compliment each other to tell the Tales of the Maze. This is not a masterpiece but is an excellent first album and is thoroughly recommended to all those lovers of Scandinavian Prog.